Our Collection

At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Diamond, Sidney, 1922-1945 to Estelle Spero

Order a pdf of this item here.

A high-resolution version of this object is available for registered users. LOG IN

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC09120.412 Author/Creator: Diamond, Sidney, 1922-1945 Place Written: Bougainville, Papua New Guinea Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 17 May 1944 Pagination: 6 p. : Height: 21 cm, Width: 28 cm Order a Copy

Diamond writes the letter while "comfortably loafing on hospital bed", waiting for surgery on a cyst. He tells Estelle that if her cousin joins the infantry and goes into active combat, he will have tremendous respect for him: "Truly the infantry is the 'Queen of Battle!'" He discusses the experience of those overseas, explaining that they all "burn with the injustice, inhumanity of the entire mess..."

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources