The experiences of American soldiers in World War I differed
enormously from those of European combatants. With the U. S.
emerging from its previous isolation, soldiers arrived in the
European theater late, fought briefly, and soon found themselves
among the victors. Exposed for the first time to a foreign culture
and bombarded by the messages of America's first concerted
propaganda campaign, doughboys and other American participants
struggled to make sense of their role and participation in the
war.
Mark Meigs here juxtaposes more official views--as expressed in
speeches and in The Stars and Stripes, army handbooks, and unit
histories--with informal, widely disseminated sources, such as
popular songs, jokes, and postwar fiction, together with the
soldiers' own letters and journals. Optimism at Armageddon begins
with an exploration of how Americans rationalized their involvement
and goes on to examine the effects of veterans' experiences during
the war, focusing on combat, cultural and sexual contact with their
European hosts, and death and concludes with the doughboys' account
of their return to American society.
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