author
William Benjamin West
A YMCA worker in World War I, he wrote from close to the front lines with the kind of detail only a firsthand witness could give. His best-known book brings readers into the Argonne campaign through the eyes of someone serving soldiers day by day.
1 Audiobook
The Fight for the Argonne: Personal Experiences of a 'Y' Man
by William Benjamin West
About the author
William Benjamin West is known for The Fight for the Argonne: Personal Experiences of a "Y" Man, published in 1919 by The Abingdon Press. Library and archive records identify it as a firsthand World War I narrative centered on his service as a YMCA "Y" man with the American Expeditionary Forces.
The book was written in the immediate aftermath of the war and focuses on the Argonne fighting, with a dedication to the men of the 37th Division. That background gives his writing a direct, on-the-ground quality: less distant military history, more personal account of morale, hardship, and everyday life near the front.
Little biographical information beyond his authorship and wartime service was easy to confirm from reliable public sources, so he remains known mainly through this vivid memoir. For readers interested in World War I eyewitness writing, his work offers a rare perspective from a civilian relief worker rather than a combat officer or official historian.