{"product_id":"doughboys-on-the-great-war-how-american-soldiers-viewed-their-military-experience-9780700624447","title":"Doughboys on the Great War: How American Soldiers Viewed Their Military Experience","description":"It is impossible to reproduce the state of mind of the men who waged war in 1917 and 1918, Edward Coffman wrote in \u003ci\u003eThe War to End All Wars\u003c\/i\u003e. In \u003ci\u003eDoughboys on the Great War\u003c\/i\u003e 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhat 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=AUTH-13296937\"\u003eEdward A. Gutièrrez\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University Press of Kansas\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 06\/06\/2017\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 320\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.95lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.90h x 6.00w x 0.70d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780700624447\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0700624449\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBISAC Categories:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-HIS\"\u003eHistory\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-HIS036060\"\u003eUnited States | 20th Century\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"University Press of Kansas","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42637862797549,"sku":"9780700624447","price":27.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/8097\/6621\/products\/img_5b283764-a9ae-4539-8ca7-686f92d1b350.jpg?v=1649023036","url":"https:\/\/sureshotbooks.com\/products\/doughboys-on-the-great-war-how-american-soldiers-viewed-their-military-experience-9780700624447","provider":"SureShot Books Publishing LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}