Series I: Scrapbook

This scrapbook was created by James S. Waters’ wife Pauline Lackner Waters to document his time in service, both in training and on the battlefield. It includes memorabilia such as Waters’ Officer’s Record Book, Battle Insignia, Overseas Service Chevrons, documents recording his vaccination, and receipts from purchases made at the Ordnance Store. Many of the pages contain photos showing Waters’ training at Camp Bullis in Texas, his time abroad in France and Germany, and--rarely--his time on leave. The majority of the scrapbook is taken up by newspaper clippings containing news of either the 90th division (of which James Waters was a part), or broader news about World War I as it developed during Waters’ time serving. Mrs. Waters also included newspaper clippings that explain the battle insignias of many different divisions--the 90th division prominently displayed alongside Waters’ own insignia, as well as several of the telegrams that Waters sent her, letters of permission and commendation sent to Waters by authority figures, and the Christmas letter that Waters sent home to his family in 1918.