John "Elmer" Martin Collection

The John "Elmer" Martin Collection consists of eleven letters to the Martin Family in Oklahoma during World War I. Ten are from Elmer, and one is from his friend Herbert A. Norris. The collection also consists of transcriptions of the letters, with archivist’s edits, created by the collection’s donor, Mr. Bob Martin, Elmer’s nephew. The collection is arranged with the letters in chronological order, starting in 1917 and ending in 1919, with the donor’s transcriptions at the end. The letters from Elmer, mostly addressed to his brother Roy, mention what life is like at training camp, and later what life is like in France during the war. He inquires about life at home on his father’s farm in Mounds, Oklahoma. He also checks if the money he is sending back home is being used to pay for his insurance policy. He mentions visiting French locals, singing songs with them, learning French, and teaching the locals English, amongst other activities. His letters home during the month of November 1918, focus on the news that the war might be ending soon, and subsequently that it has ended and he should be coming home soon. There is mention of him being sick at one time, and the final letter from Herbert mentions Elmer’s death from illness.