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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 #: GLC09120.408 Author/Creator: Diamond, Sidney (1922-1945) Place Written: Bougainville, Papua New Guinea Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 8 May 1944 Pagination: 3 p. ; 21 x 28 cm. Order a Copy

Diamond writes that, as a result of his position as executive officer, he now gives instructions on Japanese weapons. He also comments that, having "fought and worked…side by side with the negro soldiers", he is "nauseated" by the reports of growing trouble in the "negro-white situation" that he has read about in "Time". He states that men from the South, as well as the North, have come to respect and admire the "negro troops": "It is indeed shameful that upon the return of these men, this community of thought and consideration will be shattered by the narrow minded idiots whose revolting greed or ignorance is more than stomach can stand!!"

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