When America entered World War I there was a desperate need for Officers, enlisted men, and nurses. Young men and women from all across the USA, big cities and small towns alike, answered the call.

Not the least of these was Coleridge, a small farming community in North-Eastern Nebraska. In 1919, it was proclaimed “The Most Patriotic Town in America” by the Omaha World Herald Newspaper. This title was probably well deserved, because although only 600 people lived there, 103 served in World War I.

One of those brave young men was Kinley John Cisney. The letters found on this site were written by him and sent home to his Mother and Father. There are more than 120 letters here, starting with the day Kinley left Coleridge to go to Sioux City to volunteer, through training at Fort Miley, California and deployment to “Somewhere in France” (Exactly where is described in the letter dated November 24, 1918).

As near as I can count, there are 18 young men from Coleridge and Hartington who volunteered and trained together at Fort Miley. There are references in many of the letters to other people, at home or elsewhere, and reading them I get the feeling that it was not 18 young men who went to war, but the whole town.

I am particularly interested in and proud of two of these young men. Kinley John Cisney was my father's father. The Willey mentioned in a number of letters is Charles Warren Willey, my mother's father.

At the bottom of the text of each letter are several thumbnail images of the actual letter. By clicking on these images, you can see a full scale picture of the actual letter.
Inside the text of the letter you may see something that looks like this. Move the cursor over this and my footnote text will be displayed. Go ahead and try it now.

I have scanned and transcribed nearly all of the letters and added them and photos and links to the site. I will continue to add more pertinent information as often as I can find it. Feel free to use copies of these or descriptions as you want to, but please remember to tell folks where you got them.