"WE FIRED 12,000 ROUNDS BUT THE GERMANS NEVER SCORED A HIT ON US"

TRUMAN MAYBE NOT A BRAGGART BUT HE SURE LIKED TO BRAG

Western Front, France (JFK+50) On November 15, 1918, Captain Harry S Truman wrote in a letter to Bess Wallace...

"While I am not a braggart* I believe I can take my outfit and beat any other in the A.E.F.** shooting or doing any other kind of battery work."

The Captain continued to brag....

"I recommended one of my kids to go to West Point** and he was one out of seven in the A.E.F. to go...

My greatest ambition (at the beginning of the war was) to take a battery and not lose a man.  We fired 10,000 to 12,000 rounds (but) the (Germans) never score(d) a hit on (us)."

The letter was signed...

"Always, Harry

Capt Bt D, 129 FA

Am E. F."

*The term derives from Middle English "braggen"...to make a loud noise; to speak boastfully.

**American Expeditionary Force (United States Army of WWI) was established on July 5 1917 & commanded by General John J. Pershing.

SOURCE

"Letter, Harry S Truman to Bess Wallace, Nov 15 1918", Harry S Truman Library and Museum, www.trumanlibrary.org/

Harry S Truman

France 1918

Truman Library Photo

NARA Image

THE MEN MUST REALIZE WAR IS SERIOUS WORK!

JFK+50:  Volume 7, No. 2393

PERSHING WANTS WELL TRAINED MEN WHO USE THEIR NOODLES

Paris, France  (JFK+50) One hundred years ago today, August 7, 1917, Major General John J. Pershing told Associated Press of the necessity that his American army of conscripts be "in excellent condition, well-disciplined and capable of individual action."

The General added...

"Our men must keep their morals clean (and be) capable of meeting the trying conditions of modern warfare."

While Pershing said that he expected his boys to "learn to obey orders promptly, implicitly and willingly," he did not want their obedience to be "automatic." 

 The commanding general wanted "thinking men...capable and ready to assume command...should their officers be killed or incapacitated..."*

He said...

"The men must...realize war is...serious work, demanding the utmost energy and attention to insure success..."

Pershing compared his army to a disciplined, well-trained football team which is also "capable of brilliant individual action in a crisis."

*A prime example of the importance of Pershing's philosophy is in the case of Alvin C. York of Tennessee.  His commanding officer was killed leaving him to assume leadership responsibilities.  York's well-documented performance on the Western Front included accolades from General Pershing himself who pinned on him the Medal of Honor.

SOURCE

"Pershing Wants Men In Trenches Who Use Noodles," The Chicago Daily Tribune, August 8, 1917."

Alvin C. York Painting

by Frank Schoonover (1919)

Owned by Allan Jones

FIRST AMERICAN SOLDIERS ARRIVE ON THE WESTERN FRONT

JFK+50:  Volume 7, No. 2320

FIRST AMERICAN FLAG FLIES ON WESTERN FRONT

General HQ of the French Army in France (JFK+50) One hundred years ago today, May 25, 1917, the first contingent of American soldiers arrived here on the Western Front.  They were under the command of Captain E. I. Tinkhaf and Lieutenant Soully of Princeton.

The first American field service detachment, made up mainly of Cornell University undergraduates, were dressed in khaki, carried carbines and drove American five ton automobiles.

They were cheered on by other contingents as the American Flag flew proudly over them.  Other detachments represented the colleges of Andover, Dartmouth, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Yale, Chicago and Williams.*

*By June 1917 there were 14,000 U.S. soldiers in France & the American Expeditionary Force was established on July 5th.  The AEF had minor participation at the front in late October.  By May 1918, there were 1 million doughboys in France with half fighting on the Western Front.

SOURCE

"American Flag On Battle Line", The Chicago Daily Tribune, May 26, 1917.

Column of American Troops
Passing Buckingham Palace
London 1917
Photo by Horace Nicholls
Imperial War Museum Collection

WE WON'T COME BACK UNTIL IT'S OVER, OVER THERE!

JFK+50:  Volume 7, No. 2313

CREAM OF PERSHING'S REGULAR ARMY PREPARE TO SAIL TO WAR FRONT

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) One hundred years ago this evening, May 18, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson issued orders to send the first American expeditionary force to the war front in France.

The force, described as "the cream of regulars," numbered 28,000 men under the leadership of Major General John J. Pershing*.  The War Department issued the following statement...

"The president has directed an expeditionary force of approximately one division of regular troops...to proceed to France at as early a date as practicable."

The men selected, all military veterans, would receive extensive training in trench warfare by British and French officers. 

*John Joseph "Black Jack" Pershing (1860-1948) was born in Laciede, Missouri & graduated from West Point in 1886.  He served in the New Mexico territory before becoming an instructor at the US Military Academy.  JJP served in the Spanish-American War & pursued Pancho Villa in 1916.  He commanded the American Expeditionary Force in WWI.

SOURCE

"Pershing Army To France, Wilson Picks 28,000 Men To Sail Soon,"  by Arthur Sears Henning, The Chicago Daily Tribune, May 19, 1917.

General John J. Pershing
US Army Center of Military History