World War I

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It was in 1917, when the Germans definitively prevented freedom of movement on the seas and proposed an alliance to Mexico, which would receive in the event of victory, territories taken from Arizona and New Mexico that the United States engage.

Students engaging in the war

GT Signal Corps

“More than a century ago, Georgia Tech students watched with what must have been foreboding as World War I swept across Europe.
They decided to form a student-run Signal Corps, to begin wearing uniforms, and to do what they could to help defend the United States should war come calling.
In the years since 1917, graduates of the Institute’s Army, Navy, and Air Force ROTC programs have gone on to distinguished careers as admirals, generals, Medal of Honor recipients, astronauts, and industry leaders. Many have gone to war. Not all have come back.”

100 Years of ROTC: ‘The Men Were in Earnest’

Students trained on campus in Atlanta then left for Europe. Many GT students got involved and lost their lives. Ten are still buried in France and two of them are at St. Mihiel American Cemetery:

Thomas L. SPENCE

Honor Roll 1915-1916
President Signal Corps 1916-1917
Tech Bible Class
President Drama Study Club

He was a very popular student athlete and unfortunately, he couldn’t finish his schooling and get his diploma. He was very active and was member of:

The Phi Delta Theta Fraternity, Georgia delta Chapter
Junior Class Roll
Vice President Tech Athletic Association
Baseball team,1916
Football Team

Robert O. WALLACE

American involvement in France

American Field Service

We must not forget that before the commitment of the United States, American volunteers were already present. The American Field Service is the American ambulance service. This unit transports the wounded from the front to the American hospital in Neuilly, which was founded in 1910, as well as transfers from this establishment to places of convalescence. It is ensured by donations of equipment from the United States, such as Ford “Model T” cars and volunteer paramedics.

“These young volunteers formed sections of twenty to thirty individuals, assigned to French combat units and sent directly to the front. At the beginning of 1917, there were more than two hundred cars in operation. Nicknamed “the spider” because of its high chassis, the machine, which can carry three passengers lying down or four in a seated position, shows its efficiency in transporting the wounded on sometimes very bumpy roads from the front to the hospitals.”

Extracted from French source: Hervé CULTRU, « Intervention des États-Unis dans la Première Guerre mondiale », Histoire par l’image [en ligne], consulté le 31/03/2023.5

Lafayette Squadron

Other American volunteers from the Foreign Legion or among paramedics formed the Lafayette squadron, the N 124 aircraft unit, on April 20, 1916 in Luxeuil-les-Bains. This unit made up of American airmen is at the service of the French army and placed under the command of Captain Georges Thénault and his assistant Lieutenant de Laage de Meux.

Eugène BULLARD
First Black fighter pilot

For the first time since the Civil War (1861 – 1865), soldiers from the South and the North, Whites and Blacks fight side by side. Although many injustices are to be deplored, the black regiments are only allowed to go to the front on the condition of being integrated into French units and commanded by French.

“In August of 1917 Eugene Jacques Bullard, an American volunteer in the French army, became the first African American military pilot and one of only a few blacks pilot in World War I. Born in Columbus, Ga., on Oct. 9, 1894, Eugene Bullard left home at the age of 11 to travel the world, and by 1913, he had settled in France as a prizefighter. When WWI started in 1914, he enlisted in the French Foreign Legion and rose to the rank of corporal. For his bravery as an infantryman in combat, Bullard received the Croix de Guerre and other decorations.”

Eugene Jacques Bullard, National Museum of the United States Air Force

Eugene J. BULLARD biography, click here

Saint-Mihiel

The battle

The Battle of Saint-Mihiel was a major World War I battle fought from 12–15 September 1918, involving the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) and 110,000 French troops under the command of General John J. Pershing of the United States against German positions. The U.S. Army Air Service played a significant role in this action. Wikipédia

“Wings” (1927)

To watch Wings, click here

A film about the Battle of Saint-Mihiel, Wings, was directed by William A. Wellman in 1927. He won the very first Oscar for best film in 1929. Watch the trailer below:

Montsec Hill

“The World War I Montsec American Monument is located on the isolated hill of Montsec (Thiaucourt), France. This majestic monument, commemorating the achievements of the American soldiers who fought in this region in 1917 and 1918, dominates the landscape for miles around. It commemorates reduction of the St. Mihiel Salient by the U.S. First Army, September 12-16, 1918, and operations of the U.S. Second Army, November 9-11. It also honors combat services of other U.S. divisions in this region and in Alsace and Lorraine. Names of nearby villages liberated by American troops are carved upon the outside frieze.”

Montsec American Monument, ABMC

To learn more

St. Mihiel American Cemetery, American Battle Monuments Commission

St. Mihiel C. Battle Map. (1925). The Military Engineer, 17(91), 32–33.

Bratten, J. D. (2018). “Your Men Don’t Know How to Fight”: The American Expeditionary Forces Incorporating Lessons Learned. Army History, 108, 28–39.

Monstec American Monument, American Battle Monuments Commission

William A. Wellman, IMDb page

Clara Bow, IMDb page

Charles ‘Buddy’ Rogers, IMDb page

The European history of Jazz

Willie SMITH

Jazz is imported in Europe with the arrival of Americans in the presence, for example Willie “the Lion”. Sergeant Willie Smith, pianist, serves in an African-American unit alongside the French in Thiaucourt (near Metz).

James Reese Europe and the Harlem Hellfighters

“Some 4,500 Black American soldiers, victims of segregation laws in force in the U.S. military, fought in French uniforms during World War I. Nicknamed the “Harlem Hellfighters,” these soldiers displayed exceptional valor in combat. “

Mathieu, G. (2021b, February 22). The Harlem Hellfighters: African-American Fighters in French Uniforms – France-Amérique.

To learn more

Remembering the Harlem Hellfighters, National Museum of African American History and Culture

The Harlem Hellfighters: The most storied Black combat unit of World War I, American Battle Monuments Commission

The Harlem Hellfighters Were War Heroes. Then They Came Home to Racism, The New York Times, 20 août 2021

The Harlem Hellfighters: Fighting Racism In The Trenches Of WWI, npr, 1er avril 2014

Who Were the Harlem Hellfighters?, PBS

Harlem Hellfighters, Britannica

Camouflage: Made in Lorraine

“The world’s first war camouflage jacket» was invented by Louis Guingot.
It was the first massacres of 1914 that prompted Louis Guingot, painter of the École de Nancy, to imagine a garment that would prove to be the first war camouflage jacket, today adopted worldwide. Its goal: to save lives. Yet, the army was only interested in it… belatedly.”

Thiery, F. (2007). “The First Ever Military Camouflage Jacket” Was Invented by Louis Guingot. Guerres mondiales et conflits contemporains, 227, 7-21. https://doi.org/10.3917/gmcc.227.0007