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John C. Wister, 1919

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1914-1918
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: US Advance Ordnance Depot 4, Jonchery
  • Location of Service: Augusta Arsenal, Georgia; Jonchery (Haute Marne), France
  • Highest Rank: First Sergeant
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/2248

View full service history

"...I did not like the army. I never met a soldier who did..."

John Caspar Wister, acting First Sergeant of the Advance Ordnance, Depot 4, Haute Marne, France, wrote an unusual book of memoirs from World War I. He was a serviceman who was never at the front, never heard gunfire, never saw an enemy soldier. His detailed reminiscences, however, give us extensive opinions of military life, and strong personal feelings about the possible resurgence of Germany in times to come. A lover of flowers and plants, he had the opportunity to visit England's Kew Gardens during his term of service. His obituary in 1982 noted that he became our country's "Dean of Horticulture."

[ Memoirs and Letters: "A Horticulturalist in the A.E.F. Letters from France: 1917-1919" ]

More Resources

[ Memoirs: "Reminiscences of a Victorian Child", by Ella Wister Haines [09/53] ]

About this Item

Title

  • John Caspar Wister Collection

Names

  • Belman, Laura Haines
  • Wister, John Caspar

Home State

  • Pennsylvania

Headings

  • -  Wister, John Caspar
  • -  World War, 1914-1918 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Repository

  • Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1914-1918

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: US Advance Ordnance Depot 4, Jonchery
    • Location of Service: Augusta Arsenal, Georgia; Jonchery (Haute Marne), France
    • Highest Rank: First Sergeant
    • Dates of Service: 1917-1919
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Manuscript: Correspondence [1 item] -- (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Biographical information [1 item] -- (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Clippings [2 items] -- (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Correspondence [ item] -- (collected 1949)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/2248

Cite as

  • John Caspar Wister Collection (AFC/2001/001/2248), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

Using VHP Material in Publication or Exhibition

The Veterans History Project (VHP) at the Library of Congress collects, preserves and makes accessible the firsthand recollections of U.S. military veterans who served from World War I through more recent conflicts and peacekeeping missions, so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand what they saw, did and felt during their service. The Veterans History Project Collection includes oral histories along with documentary materials such as original letters, diaries, photographs, and memoirs.

Veterans and interviewers contribute these materials to the Library for scholarly and educational purposes, retaining any copyright they may hold. Therefore, permission must be obtained before using the interview or other materials in exhibition or publication. Researchers or others who would like to make further use of these materials should contact the Veterans History Project for assistance.

As a publicly supported institution, the Library generally does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot give or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute material in its collections. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item from the Library’s collections and for securing any necessary permissions rests with persons desiring to use the item.

Please contact us with questions.

Obtaining Copies of VHP Materials

In order for VHP materials to be duplicated, we must receive written permission from the interviewee for you to obtain a copy of the recording unless the proposed use is limited to personal use, research, or other uses permissible by copyright law. If the interviewee is deceased, their next-of-kin may grant written permission.

Please contact VHP for assistance if you need to contact a veteran for permission to use their materials in exhibition or publication, or if you have received permission from the veteran and need access to high-resolution copies of VHP collection materials.

Citing VHP Materials

Please use the following formats when citing Veterans History Project materials (substituting the appropriate name and collection ID number).

Materials as a whole:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Manuscript material:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Memoirs (MS02), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Transcript (MS04), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Correspondence (MS01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Recording:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Audio recording (SR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Video recording (MV01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Photograph:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH01), photographer unknown, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH03-PH14), Ralph Williams photographer, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Computer file:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Computer file (CF01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Artifact:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Artifact (AR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Belman, Laura Haines, and John Caspar Wister. John Caspar Wister Collection. 1917. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.02248/.

APA citation style:

Belman, L. H. & Wister, J. C. (1917) John Caspar Wister Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.02248/.

MLA citation style:

Belman, Laura Haines, and John Caspar Wister. John Caspar Wister Collection. 1917. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.02248/>.