These letters from American servicemen in World War One describe day-to-day life in the military--guard duty, the assignment of special duty, moving to ports of embarkation, outfitting for the voyage overseas, different customs encountered in Europe, and relations with the inhabitants of a defeated Germany--while avoiding the experience of combat.  All of the correspondents display the conviction that the war cannot last long once the Americans have entered it, a point of view also embodied in a burlesque of the flight of German Crown Prince Wilhelm's army before the pursuing Americans.