This page from a letter written by Private Willis W. Wagener during World War I offers a soldier's candid perspective on life near the front -- from the high price of scarce canned goods to his informed reading of newspaper accounts describing Allied progress along the Vesle River in France. Written during the Aisne-Marne Offensive of August 1918, the letter captures both the mundane hardships and the broader strategic awareness of an American Expeditionary Forces soldier in the war's final, decisive months. Project: 218242