In this page from a personal letter home, an American soldier serving in France during World War I describes a chance meeting in a French bookstore, where a language barrier gave way to an unexpected connection: the elderly gentleman who helped him find a map of France turned out to be a cousin of Raphael Weill, founder of San Francisco's White House department store. Letters like this one offer intimate glimpses into the cultural exchanges and everyday humanity experienced by American servicemen far from home. Project: 218254