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 #: GLC09120.416 Author/Creator: Diamond, Sidney (1922-1945) Place Written: Bougainville, Papua New Guinea Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 23 May 1944 Pagination: 5 p. ; 16 x 18 cm. Order a Copy

Diamond informs Estelle that he was menat to go to the general hospital to have his surgery, but instead he had managed to persuade the doctor to operate on him in the line hospital. Had he been moved, he "would have left on a certain morning on a particular plane…everyone back at camp…thought [he] was finished…" He proceeds to promise Estelle that he will be "coming home in one piece". He then discusses what he plans to do upon seeing Estelle when he returns.

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