View Triesler's Letters

Henry Triesler was an officer attached to the Headquarters of the United States Fifth Army. His letters begin after he landed in North Africa in January 1944. From Africa, Henry was with the Fifth Army during its invasion of Italy. Henry Triesler's letters are rich with descriptions of life in an army headquarters. He describes the battle scenes he has witnessed and the tension of being under attack. He speaks with great pride of the gains that the Fifth Army made in Italy. He occasionally mentions contact with the enemy and often mentions what life was like for the civilians he came in contact with. He also illustrates the differences between life at headquarters and life for the average enlisted man. Henry mentions food, accomodations and opportunities for rest and relaxation that would have alluded the average soldier. But at the same time, he shows empathy for those on the front lines and he frequently praises their efforts.      The majority of letters in the Henry Triesler collection were V-mails that were sent to his family in Hagerstown, Maryland. Since V-mail letters were often short in length, Henry Triesler's letters have been organized by month and presented as if they were entries in a diary. Henry Triesler came home from the war in Europe. He died in November 2004 in Scottsdale, Arizona at the age of 85.

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