Wilde, George Collection
George Wilde was born on August 17, 1891. Wilde graduated from Chillicothe, Mo. Business College and was promised a job by J. J. Fox at the Union News in St. Louis. However, WWI began and he was drafted into the Army. Wilde served as a bugler in the 354th Infantry, 89th Division during the war and received a purple heart after being gassed in France.
Wilde’s tour of duty was brief because his father died in 1918 from the flu. He returned home to help his mother take care of the 57 acre family farm. His collection consists of correspondence to family and friends in Mo., photographs, discharge papers, and a Purple Heart.
