JFK+50: Volume 7, No. 2363
PERSHING LIKES "SAMMY" FOR HIS BOYS' NICKNAME
Paris, France (JFK+50) One hundred years ago today, July 7, 1917, in an interview with United Press, Major General John J. Pershing said...
"In my estimation (the nickname Sammy*) is the best possible one for these American boys."
Pershing went on to express his "pleasure and gratitude" for the reception his soldiers were given by the people of Paris on July 4th.
The General said...
"It was marvelous to see the French crowds shower flowers on our boys just as they would on their own."
*Sammy became a popular term for the American soldiers of WWI in Great Britain. It derived, of course, from "Uncle Sam" the well-known symbol of the United States of America.
In the second verse of George M. Cohan's "Over There", Nora Bayes sang it..."Over There, Over There, the Sammies are coming."
SOURCE
"All Right, Gen. Pershing, We'll Call 'Em Sammy," The Chicago Daily Tribune, July 8, 1917.
"Sammies," The Word Detective, www.word-detective.com/
PERSHING LIKES "SAMMY" FOR HIS BOYS' NICKNAME
Paris, France (JFK+50) One hundred years ago today, July 7, 1917, in an interview with United Press, Major General John J. Pershing said...
"In my estimation (the nickname Sammy*) is the best possible one for these American boys."
Pershing went on to express his "pleasure and gratitude" for the reception his soldiers were given by the people of Paris on July 4th.
The General said...
"It was marvelous to see the French crowds shower flowers on our boys just as they would on their own."
*Sammy became a popular term for the American soldiers of WWI in Great Britain. It derived, of course, from "Uncle Sam" the well-known symbol of the United States of America.
In the second verse of George M. Cohan's "Over There", Nora Bayes sang it..."Over There, Over There, the Sammies are coming."
SOURCE
"All Right, Gen. Pershing, We'll Call 'Em Sammy," The Chicago Daily Tribune, July 8, 1917.
"Sammies," The Word Detective, www.word-detective.com/
Uncle Sam Recruiting Poster
by J. M. Flagg (1917)
Library of Congress Photo
by J. M. Flagg (1917)
Library of Congress Photo
