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Scrapbook of Etrope Joseph Yacks

1 box (0.5 linear feet)

(1917 – 1919)

Edward H. Nabb Center for Delmarva History and Culture, Salisbury, University, Salisbury, Maryland

Identifier SC2017.029
Creator(s) Yacks, Etrope Joseph
Acquisition

Acquired by Dr. Beatriz Hardy (Dean of SU Libraries and Instructional Resources) in 2017.
Language(s) English, French
Use Records are open for research. Copyright, including literary rights, belongs to the author(s) or their legal heirs. Permission to publish or reproduce must be obtained from the Nabb Research Center which extends beyond "fair use."
Preferred Citation "Item, collection title and identifier, box # and folder # (if applicable), Edward H. Nabb Research Center for Delmarva History and Culture, Salisbury University, Salisbury, Maryland."
Attribution Finding aid written by Ian Post.
Related Materials

Lieutenant Colonel Edward Henry Bowes Collection (1901, 1969)
Separated Materials See Nabb Center Staff
Abstract

This scrapbook consists of items collected by Etrope Joseph Yacks of Bay City, Michigan between 1918 and 1919. Yacks, who was a Private in the American Expeditionary Forces during the First World War, took photographs and collected postcards, as well as other ephemera, while he served overseas in France. Photographs depict soldiers in bombed areas, in addition to scenery around various cities including Paris. Ephemera includes tickets, programs, and newspaper clippings for various theatrical performances, restaurants, and other events.

Scope and Content Note

Etrope Joseph Yacks of Detroit, Michigan, entered the American Expeditionary Forces one week before his 23rd birthday in November 1917 during the First World War. Ranked as a private, he served with the Engineer Purchasing Office Detachment and sailed overseas to Brest, France, on the SS George Washington in February 1918. In March, he rode in a box car train to Camp Williams in Is-Sur-Tille where he remained for the next year. During this time, the armistice was signed on November 11 and he witnessed President Wilson’s arrival in France – coincidentally aboard the SS George Washington – on December 14.
In March 1919, the Army moved Yacks to Paris and, two months later, to St. Aignan and Marseille. He received his discharge papers on June 11 after his arrival at Mitchell Field in New York and returned home to Detroit on June 12, 1919. Throughout his time in France during the First World War, Yacks collected postcards and other ephemera, took photographs of soldiers and rubble, and wrote commentary about his excursions to various French cities after the war.

According to one document, he "Entered service November 19, 1917. Discharged June 11th, 1919. Sailed over seas February 18, 1918, 11 P.M. on S. S. George Washington. Arrived in Brest March 3rd, 1918. Left Brest March 8, 1918, riding box cars, 42 soldiers 5 A.M. Arrived at Is-Sur-Tille Camp Williams 5 P.M. March 11, 1918. Left Is-Sur-Tille March 19, 1918 for Paris. Left Paris for St. Aignan May 6, 1919 to Marseilles. Arrived in New York June 6, 1919 to Mitchell Field, Long Island to June 11, 1919. Arrived in Detroit June 12, 1919."

Arrangement Statement See Nabb Center Staff

Subject Terms

  • Topical Terms
    • Photography
    • Postcards
    • Scrapbooks
    • World War, 1914-1918
    • Newspapers
    • Voyages and Travel
    • Military History
  • Location Terms
    • France
    • Michigan

Inventory List

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Artifacts

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