Charles F. Tous was born October 19, 1892, in Cordova, Nebraska. His parents, John J. and Marie Tous, were immigrants from Czechoslovakia. Tous graduated (1911) from Exeter, Nebraska, High School and immediately took a position as bookkeeper at Exeter State Bank.

Tous enlisted in the army in June 1917 and earned the rank of first lieutenant. He served with the 337th Machine Gun Battalion of the 88th Division out of Camp Dodge, Iowa, and was then transferred to Ames, Iowa, in June 1918. He was assigned to the College Training Detachment, Company A at Iowa State College (University). In September, Tous was appointed Acting Quartermaster of the Student Army Training Corps (SATC) and in November, Tous was appointed Company Commander, Company B of the SATC. Tous was discharged from the military on January 2, 1919.

After his service, he acquired a 480-acre homestead in Green County, near Lisco, Nebraska. Tous later moved to Fairmont, Nebraska, and took a position with Farmers State Bank. He continued working in the banking business until his death.

Tous married Venda Putlitz in 1926 and together they had one daughter, Mary Frances. Charles F. Tous died on July 16, 1977.

The collection (1917-1977, undated) contains material related to Lt. Tous's life including military documents, newspaper clippings, photographs, and homestead documentation. Tous's military service is documented through military correspondence, photographs taken at Iowa State College (University), and a soldier's diary documenting his military assignments. The homestead documentation contains Tous's original homestead and mortgage papers. The photographs include pictures of Tous, the officers and soldiers stationed at Iowa State, military transport vehicles, campus buildings, machine shop interiors, and an image of the patients and medical staff inside State Gymnasium during the 1918 influenza epidemic.

The collection is arranged alphabetically.