What do you notice? What do you wonder?
From reading from the diary entry from Wednesday, June 5, 1918 I see his experience are expressed into each of his entries. He breaks down each day into its own significance. This entry of the journal is with their patrols, and many of the pilots have gone to a chateau to attend a funeral for a LT that was killed in a crash with a lieutenant leaving from being a patrol leader.
Source:
The source provided is from smithsonian, https://transcription.si.edu/view/17875/NASM-NASM-9A16128-157_158 about Zenos R. Miller experience in world war one provided into a journal.
Context:
This is still a time of war that many people have been a part of, with sides fighting against each other with many casualties from both sides. With the module post, it provides more details about the experiences of WW1.
https://maryklann.wixsite.com/hist110/post/module-14-world-war-i
Implications/Conclusions:
From reading through all this piece of information to determine which was a suitable option I decide this diary entry would provided a significant example of why this should be important, for it's from a direct source during a time period from their perspective showing how they felt about with the experiences they have endured.
Discussion Question:
What do you think piolets felt during this time and how come they kept diary's.
I like the question about why pilots (or other soldiers) would keep diaries. As many others have said above, there was probably a mix of emotions--a journal or diary helps people make sense of a stressful or anxious situation, as @Hamza Dehaini, @Hang Nguyen, @Ngoc Tran, and @Laura Kinsey noted. There is also a desire to record their contributions or leave behind a piece of their experience, as @Kelly Bell wrote. I wonder about diaries as a historical source--they are both intensely personal and private, but also outward-facing, as they serve as a marker or recording of someone's history as they experienced it. And they get saved. So presumably people think that someone else will read it someday?
I would think that they wanted for their story to be heard since they’re doing something very pressured as they felt stressed doing their job.
I think pilots were feeling very pressure and scared during the time of war. Because they knew that they could be shot down, captured or die at any time, their lives are not secured, therefore, they tried to enjoy every single second while being in this world. They chose to write a diary to record what they felt, and document their activities, so when they died, their friends and families could feel that they were still near.
I think humans have an innate desire to document their lives in some way, and before social media, blogs, etc., maybe the most common way was to keep a diary. Especially in the event that something happens to them in war, they can leave behind a tangible part of who they were and what they experienced.
In my opinion, they might think a little nervous and could not guess what going to happen. They might also felt pressure because they had to perform duties, and tried to enjoy every moment they have with their family and fellows. I think they wanted to keep the diaries because sometimes they could not express their emotions to others, they needed a place to entrust their feeling about what happened to them during those hard times.
I also chose this diary as my Source Analysis, and i as well have the same questions as you. How did they feel knowing they could be shot down and captured or die. I as well wonder how they came to the conclusion to keep diaries. It makes me want to start one for myself.