RIMERSBURG — A mother preserved her son's war letters with such care that 90 years later they remain intact and ready to tell the story of the soldier son.

They tell the story of Roy E. Kidd's travels to France and year fighting in World War I there.

"I left Camp Lee, VA, about 11 p.m. Tuesday 11th June, 1918 traveling in day coaches to Hoboken, N.J. We went from the train thru the depot to the ferry crossing over to our steamer the Leviathan, one of the largest if not the largest ships afloat," Kidd writes in a letter dated Nov. 28, 1918.

Atop the letter, someone has labeled it "Letter #23."

But, after all the care to keep the letters in one place and in one piece, the family lost the letters years ago when a family home was cleaned out.

Now, the soldier's grandson, David Kidd, will travel from Washington D.C., to reclaim the letters Saturday, after they turned up in an unlikely place.

In return, the family is donating the letters to the Heinz History Center.

Ken Gibbs thought he was buying a bunch of old cookbooks. He found a bit of genuine history.Gibbs, a Union High School history teacher, was at an estate sale in Rimersburg more than a year ago when he bought what he thought was a box of cookbooks."These were random boxes left over from a bunch of estate sales,"he said.When he returned to his home in Madison Township, Clarion County, he found in the box a red binder that was filled with notes from World War I.When he flipped through the pages, he saw about 25 letters written home from France by Roy E. Kidd of Emsworth, along with maps and postcards."We figured the mother (of the soldier) put it together," he said.Each letter was numbered sequentially and marked with the date it was received. Newspaper clippings and handwritten notes were added."Being a teacher, I've really appreciated what they could be," Gibbs said. "I didn't feel that there was any need to sell them on eBay or anything."So Gibbs contacted a historian from Bedford. Joe Gardner, vice president of the Bedford County historical society, became a World War I researcher after he retired.Gardner archived the letters electronically and began researching Kidd. During a year of research, Gardner used clues in the letters to learn Kidd had fought in Meuse-Argonne, Ypres-Lys and Lorraine — important battles. Kidd was a member of the 145th Regiment of the 37th Infantry Division and was attached to the 42nd Rainbow Division. He spent his year in France with the American Expeditionary Force.

"These letters first seem very bland and lame," Gardner said. "The first ones complain about the rain, but are otherwise positive."That's typical of letters from the Great War, he said."You don't scare the folks at home," he said.Soldiers wouldn't write about the "blood and guts," but would mention the mundane, he said. Once, Kidd pleads for his family to send him wool socks, Gardner said.In the same November 1918 letter, Kidd is factual about casualties.Kidd wrote: "There was not a great deal of activity, but it seemed like a lot to us rookies. During our stay of six weeks there were nine solders of the 145th Infantry killed and a number wounded. However the losses among the Germans were much greater than our own."What was typical was "out and out patriotism," Gardner said."He writes about the 'nasty Hun.'" Gardner said.Kidd wrote: "The men showed a dash and daring that was surprising."And should Kidd mention something he wasn't permitted to, there are places in the letters the government censor has taken a razor blade and removed part of the sentence, Gibbs said. Each letter is signed off by a censor.So, Gardner said, to truly understand the letters, he reads between the lines.Expecting the folks back at home wouldn't understand what they were talking about, soldiers, including Kidd, were often vague about battles."Eighty years later, we say 'Holy cow, he was in the Meuse-Argonne,' " Gardner said. With modern information, Gardner has tracked Kidd's progress across battle maps.Nonetheless, the letters are historically significant."These letters are first hand accounts," Gardner said. "They are different perspectives than history. These are perspectives of the guy in the hole."Kidd, as a regimental sergeant, doesn't have a grasp of the objectives of the battle or the war. He knows only what he can see and hear, Gardner said. "His objective is two-fold. One: stay alive. Two: not let his buddies down," Gardner said.These letters, Gardner said, also show how life changed during the war."(War) is disruptive to what we call normal life," he said.For example, "He pines for a young lady named Daisie," he said."He didn't marry Daisie; he married Bernice."

Gardner also found relatives of Kidd's.Kidd's son's widow, Mary Kidd, is alive. Her son, David, originally from Greenville, works for the State Department and is momentarily living in the Washington, D.C., area.With Veteran's Day approaching, Gibbs and Gardner partnered with the Donald R. Lobaugh War Museum in Rimersburg to plan a program that will return the letters to the family. The celebration, which will include readings of the letters, participation by the American Legion and VFW, is planned for 10 a.m. Saturday in the Union High School gym.Mary Kidd will be unable to attend because of illness, but David Kidd said he'll make his first visit to Rimersburg to accept the letters.He's never seen the letters before. Mary Kidd knew of the existence of the letters, but thought they were long gone, her son said.He said when his grandfather died, his grandmother sold the contents of the attic to an antique dealer. He expects that's when the letters left the family.When Gardner called David Kidd to tell him about the letters, Kidd thought it was a friend playing a prank, he said. It took Gardner's explanation of the significance of the letters for Kidd to realize he was serious.Kidd has few memories of his grandfather, who died in 1971 when Kidd was young, he said. So he's looking forward to finding out exactly what Roy Kidd did during the war."He never really talked about it,"David Kidd said.The family made the decision to donate the letters to Heinz History Center because there was "more value to that than keeping them," he said.The letters will be on display and archived there, Gardner said. Additionally, the Rimersburg's war museum will keep an electronic copy.