A Five-Part Series
Part II: Over there: Off to France and the Western Front
Hatfield Historical Society volunteer
James H. Day and Peter L. Balise grew up in Hatfield, joined the Army in 1917 after the United States entered the war, and were wounded fighting on the Western Front. Both men also wrote about their experiences in France. But it is thanks to the cooperation of the soldier’s descendants, who shared documents, photographs and artifacts with the Hatfield Historical Society and the Hatfield Historical Museum, that we are able to tell their stories here.