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Thomas Cooper Library has received a new archive of letters and other materials from an American soldier who fought in World War I.
The archive covers the experience during and after the war of Samuel Bloom, who was born in the Ukraine in 1895 but emigrated with his family to New York in early childhood and later was drafted for service in Europe.
The library’s Special Collections Division received the archive earlier this year from Bloom’s two sons, Robert A. Bloom of New York City, and Jack Bloom of New Rochelle, N.Y.
“Neither of the sons had any previous contact with USC but they decided that because of the Joseph M. Bruccoli Great War Collection Thomas Cooper Library would look after Mr. Bloom’s papers well,” said Special Collections Director Patrick Scott.
The collection includes Samuel Bloom’s diaries before and during the war, weekly letters home, letters to him from his family about New York politics, and material from his time after the war studying at the University of Montpelier.
In April 1918, Bloom shipped out with Company L of the 325th Infantry Battalion to France. After experience behind the Somme front, and signal training, he was engaged with his company with the American Expeditionary Force in Lorraine, and in the St. Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne offensives.
He was wounded by shrapnel in the left hand and sent to a field hospital, which probably saved his life. His company continued to fight, eventually ending up with only 137 men, including four officers, out of an initial strength of 1,000 soldiers.
A complete overview is on the Web at sc.edu/library/spcoll/hist/bloom/Bloom.html.
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Samuel Bloom
