POV You Are an American Soldier in World War 1

You are 19 years old, farming your family's land outside Millersburg, Ohio, when America declares war on Germany in April 1917. Within a year you are crossing the Atlantic under threat of U-boat attack, carrying your father's silent Civil War keepsake toward a wheat field outside Belleau Wood, France — not knowing that by June 1918 you will finally understand what he never told you. ●National WWI Museum and Memorial (Kansas City) — collections and exhibits on the American Expeditionary Forces ●U.S. Army Center of Military History — official unit histories of the AEF at Belleau Wood and the Meuse-Argonne ●Library of Congress, Veterans History Project — firsthand oral histories from American WW1 veterans ●National Archives (NARA) — AEF unit war diaries and draft registration records ●American Battle Monuments Commission — records on the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery and battle sites #WW1 #WorldWarOne #AmericanExpeditionaryForces #BelleauWood #MeuseArgonne #POVHistory #firstpersonhistory ABOUT THIS STORY This is a dramatised historical narrative. The events, dates, places and units are real and researched. The characters, names and dialogue are fictional, created to represent what ordinary soldiers experienced. Made to remember and understand — not to glorify war or endorse any regime. Visuals produced using AI-assisted tools. Spot a factual error? Tell us in the comments.