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At the end of the First World War the Allied powers debated what to do about Germany. France particularly wanted a harsh peace to punish Germany, while the United States under President Woodrow Wilson and Great Britain called for a more measured response. The conference Wirt refers to on page 2 was held at Versailles, France. At this time, Edward Wirt's division, the 6th, was stationed on the German-French border in Alsace. The armistice that had been signed in November was merely a cease-fire. Until a final peace treaty was signed the situation remained unsettled enough that the Allies kept their armies in place. And so even though the war was over, Wirt and the American command could not know when exactly the troops could come home.

There are ninety letters from Mr. Wirt to Miss Bartlett in the PVMA collection; twelve of them are reproduced here.

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