Following My Grandfather’s World War I Diary

Honoring the Doughboys

“Jeff Lowdermilk has done more than provide a civic service – remembering the thousands of American doughboys who fought and died for freedom on the fields of France and Belgium in 1918. He has done more than give us a personal testament to his grandfather’s bravery, memory, and the heartfelt relationship between a young man and his wise elder. He has given us a work of art…”

Bruce C. McKenna, Screenwriter of Band of Brothers, Creator, Producer, and Writer of The Pacific.

HONORING THE DOUGHBOYS: Following My Grandfather’s World War I Diary

These are heart-warming accounts of the American infantrymen, the battles they fought, and the brotherhood that united them.

Buy Now

Foreword By Helen Patton

Go Back in time

My Grandfather’s diary excerpts are paired with photos of where his actions took place.

“At the ceremony for the ninetieth anniversary of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, on September 26, 2008, the image of General John J. Pershing was projected onto the Montfaucon Monument in Montfaucon, France. The local People refer to it as Preshing’s Tower.”

“Nov. 24th: We left Stenay early and marched out of France (and) in to Belgium about 3 o’clock p.m. And about sundown we got to a small town by the name of Grouville where my pal and I got to bed and had a real good nights sleep. These hikes were sure awful — 30 Kilos. (18.64 miles)”

Testimonials:

“This is a uniquely beautiful and touching book by a renowned photographer. Jeffrey Lowdermilk inherited his grandfather’s diary from World War I . The hand-written book details the places and the terrible battles of the many he was in while a doughboy soldier. Jeffrey, who had loved to read about World War I history since he was a young reader, became fascinated by the diary and decided to go as a photographer to the places described in such detail and try to follow his heroic grandfather’s footsteps and learn more from experiencing the places and people. He traveled extensively through France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany where his grandfather, George A Carlson, had served with the American Expeditionary Forces. He met many of the veteran soldiers…”

from that period of history and became friendly, eliciting their stories about those times also, helping Jeffrey to make the history more real and personal. He used his skills as photographer to make images of the places, the cemeteries, bridges, buildings, landscapes where these battles had taken place, as well as pictures of the many re-enactments that take place from time to time now. The touching foreword is written by Helen Patton, the granddaughter of the same doughboy soldier. I believe this book is a moving portrait of the history of about a century ago, when the world was so troubled. Anyone interested in history will find this book very touching and worthwhile because it truly makes history come alive in an unforgettable way.

~ Bonnie Neely

Continue Reading

View More Testimonials

Capture