An American on the Western Front ─ The First World War Letters of Arthur Clifford Kimber, 1917-18

Fired by idealism, the young student Arthur Clifford Kimber initially acted as a volunteer ambulance driver in order to get to the front quickly. In a gripping first-hand account of what he witnessed and who he met on his way to war and on the front, including poignant descriptions of wartime Britain and memorable encounters with former president Theodore Roosevelt and Hollywood actress Lillian Gish, it details Kimber’s frustration as he seeks an active role—enrolling within months in the fledgling U.S. Air Force—and follows his hopes and dreams for what lies after the war. But, after throwing himself into service and taking part in dogfights against "the Boche," he died just a few weeks before the end of the war, on the opening day of the Meuse-Argonne offensive. Kimber was one of the first Americans onto the front line and, tragically, was one of the last Americans to be buried. Here, his revelatory letters are published for the first time, along with his sketches.

Arthur Clifford Kimber was a senior at Stanford when he offered himself to France for war service. Of his death, his colonel, E. C. Whitehead, has written: "Arthur Kimber, of the 22d Aero Squadron, who was killed in action September 26th, stands out markedly as one of the bravest Americans that fought in this war." He is linked the distinctive honor of bearing the first official American flag to France after the United States entered the Great War.