PRINCETON UNIVERSITY CERTIFICATE OF RECOGNITION FOR WORLD WAR I [WWI] MILITARY SERVICE. de Fitzgerald, F. Scott - 1918.

Princeton:: Princeton University,. 1918.. First edition, only edition. A unique, historic document. Awarded to Fitzgerald in recognition that he left his studies at Princeton to serve in the military during WWI. It states, in Latin: ". . . since it is just and completely in accordance with reason that those students of the arts and sciences deserve recognition from the state and the university who leave our halls in the heat of war to carry out deeds in the name of freedom, worthy of public honor--let it be known to all that we are pleased by the well-deserving youth F. SCOTT FITZGERALD who advanced along the path toward his baccalaureate degree which he would not have left except for the cause of his country. We believe him worthy and do present him with this testimony of our trust and goodwill. God save the Republic. We have given this in the Wassace Hall of Princeton 1918 . . ." Fitzgerald received his commission as a second lieutenant in the Army October 26, 1917, and was assigned to Camp Sheridan near Montgomery, Alabama (where he met Zelda in 1918). Before he was deployed overseas, the war ended. He was discharged on February 14, 1919. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE: It has long been known that Fitzgerald dropped out of Princeton after four years of on-and-off-again study to join the Army. We understand the certificate conferred passing grades in all current classes on the student to whom it was awarded. While it was certainly well deserved, it does bring to light a possible factor in the timing of his decision to join the war effort. PROVENANCE: In the 1930s, F. Scott and Zelda lived in a now-historic area of Baltimore, Maryland -- Bolton Hill -- the last place where they lived together. It was during their stay there that Fitzgerald wrote his last complete novel, TENDER IS THE NIGHT. The owner was their landlord and when she died in 1967, the certificate was discovered among her things. To this day, the building remains a private residence and is marked with a blue plaque in Fitzgerald's honor. PRESERVATION: In order to preserve and protect this historic document, it was professionally removed from the thin board to which it had been glued and minor splits and tears were mended. It is now housed in an archival sleeve and custom folding case. The certificate measures approximately 17 x 14 inches. .