This thesis aims to tell the story of James Austin Bowman as he navigated the Western Front during World War I. The thesis utilizes two main types of historical documents: the personal diary and the letters to his wife. During his time on the Western Front, Bowman wrote in a personal diary about the uncertainty and daily life of a soldier inching closer to war. Bowman also wrote over forty-three letters to his wife, Evelyn, as he shared his thoughts and emotions while the world was at war. For one hundred years, my family has preserved these historical documents. The thesis will use the diary and letters of James Bowman as main primary sources along with a variety of secondary sources on trauma, memory, and World War I.