"It is impossible to reproduce the state of mind of the men who
waged war in 1917 and 1918," Edward Coffman wrote in "The War to
End All Wars." In "Doughboys on the Great War" the voices of
thousands of servicemen say otherwise. The majority of soldiers
from the American Expeditionary Forces returned from Europe in
1919. Where many were simply asked for basic data, veterans from
four states--Utah, Minnesota, Connecticut, and Virginia--were given
questionnaires soliciting additional information and "remarks."
Drawing on these questionnaires, completed while memories were
still fresh, this book presents a chorus of soldiers' voices
speaking directly of the expectations, motivations, and experiences
as infantrymen on the Western Front in World War I.
What was it like to kill or maim German soldiers? To see friends
killed or maimed by the enemy? To return home after experiencing
such violence? Again and again, soldiers wrestle with questions
like these, putting into words what only they can tell. They also
reflect on why they volunteered, why they fought, what their
training was, and how ill-prepared they were for what they found
overseas. They describe how they interacted with the civilian
populations in England and France, how they saw the rewards and
frustrations of occupation duty when they desperately wanted to go
home, and--perhaps most significantly--what it all added up to in
the end. Together their responses create a vivid and nuanced group
portrait of the soldiers who fought with the American Expeditionary
Forces on the battlefields of Aisne-Marne, Argonne Forest, Belleau
Wood, Chateau-Thierry, the Marne, Metz, Meuse-Argonne, St. Mihiel,
Sedan, and Verdun during the First World War.
The picture that emerges is often at odds with the popular
notion of the disillusioned doughboy. Though hardened and harrowed
by combat, the veteran heard here is for the most part proud of his
service, service undertaken for duty, honor, and country. In short,
a hundred years later, the doughboy once more speaks in his own
true voice.
General
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