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

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC09120.193 Author/Creator: Diamond, Sidney, (1922-1945) Place Written: Fort Bliss, Texas Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 26 February 1943 Pagination: 8 p. ; 20.5 x 27 cm. Order a Copy

Diamond tells Estelle about another petty robbery that occurred within the ranks. He also informs her that the Eighty Second Chemical Battalion is to go to Louisiana next, but that he has no information as to when they might leave. He discusses his decision to enlist in the army, despite "his community way of thinking". Sidney then describes one of his men, a North Carolinian, who had chosen to fulfill his "duty to his neighbors, to his people, to his home," which leads to a discussion about his experience of living with the "common folk", and the ways in which it has made me understand the importance of not just dismissing them as "ignorant, stupid".

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