Original Diary of Lieut. Lyman W. Rogers - Written while he was with American Red Cross during World War I - 1918 - in Italy.
Also includes various newspaper clippings about talks that he gave and a few pages of type written diary pages. Majority of this listing is Lieut. Rogers hand written original diary pages starting with "Vicenza, August, 25, 1918" through "Vicenza, October 28, 1918". Not all entires are in Vicenza..the entries include his time in the Alps, San Catrina, Colapione, Venice, and more. Seven months in Italy during the war as the Red Cross hands out supplies to civilians and others. Many times they are caught in the cross fire. One of the newspaper articles state that Lieut. Rogers was the only American to go up in the highest portion of the Italian Alps.
This original diary has much historical value and belongs in a museum or a university. Could be part of a World War I dissertation uncovering new information.
Here is an excerpt from one day:
"Venice Nov 9th (1918)
Left this morning at 9 am for a small torpedo boat for Venice. We had to do considerable zig-zagging around before we got well out to sea. Upon inquiry I was informed by the Captain of our boat that under the terms of the armistice that the Austrian officials were to inform the Italian government where the ____were but that before the Italian officers could see these officials that they had deported for parts information and that is was very dangerous to go into these waters! On board ship were five English officers who had escaped from Austria. These English officers were being escorted from one camp to another under guard when they learned that Austria had asked for an armistice. One of the officers explained to the soldiers that they were escorting____ _____ it was very important for them to go back to England at once and that since Austria had asked for an armistice that it would be necessary to leave them and go home at once. They shook hands with the soldier and walked away from them. The soldiers did not interfase and objections at all of this about departure of these English officers. Arrived in Venice at 4 pm and immediately a gondola and started for the offing of the American Red Cross. On my way happened to see Captain Slaughter in a little launch and when he saw me he was surely surprised. It seems that he had made many inquiries about me during the last two weeks but nobody could give him any information as to my whereabouts. When he learned of the situation in Trieste he surely got busy. He told me that he should start to his office in the morning at 9:30 and that we would get a barge from the government to __________ the saddlebags from the warehouse to the ___from which the steamers left."
Interesting to see that Lieut. Rogers wrote portrait style on one side of the page and landscape style on the opposite side of the page in order to reduce the confusion of bleedthru of the letters.
Also includes an old black / white photo of a soldier in an ice bank purported to be in the Italian Alps.
Page size of diary paper is 8.5 x 5.5 inches.
BR - Box 164
Original letters of Dr. Charles L. Martin, one of the founders of the Radiology Department at Baylor University, Dallas, TX. All artifacts date from 1915 to 1920. Literally hundreds of pages of letters, drawings, photos, and other artifacts.
Obtained from a Dallas estate sale. Excellent condition.
These original documents belong in a museum or in the Baylor, NIH, or other historical archives. Contact me for additional information.
Leather bound book measures 11" x 8.5" x 2". And is chock full of historical information.
