The long tail of the Great War: Three ways to see WWI’s lasting impact on society and military culture

2021-07-28T15:17:38-04:00

World War I is for many reasons a precedent-setting event in modern American and world history.

When hostilities break out in July 1914, the United States remained neutral, with an Army of 127,500, according to an account published by the Library of Congress. Within three years, we had declared war on Germany, and committed to send forces to fight alongside European allies. This is the first time in American history that the military is deployed abroad in defense of foreign soil, according to LOC’s “The American Expeditionary Forces.”

“By the end of the war,” the article noted, “four million men had served in the United States Army, with an additional 800,000 in other military service branches.” The United States incurred 320,000 casualties, which included 53,000 killed in action; worldwide, an estimated 8.5 million soldiers died, according to statistics compiled by Britannica.

The sheer scale of the Great War gave rise to many “firsts” — too many to recount in a blog post. Instead, to mark this year’s anniversary of the war’s start, here are three ways to see its lasting impact on society and military culture. This according to historians who spoke in 2017 and 2018 at the Kansas City, Missouri, National WWI Museum and Memorial, in symposia rebroadcast on C-SPAN.

Serving for patriotic and practical reasons. Jennifer Keene, author of “Doughboys, the Great War, and the Remaking of America,” said in her 2017 talk that WWI is when Americans articulate practical as well as patriotic reasons for military service. Many are dedicated to the cause but view service as a pathway to a better life after the war.

“What they also talk about a lot is their financial future,” Keene said, citing correspondence between a soldier and spouse. “They’re seeing the benefits that military service, and especially wartime service, will give them as a way to end the war in a higher place … on the socioeconomic ladder.”

The theme of post-war benefits resulting from service now appeared throughout WWI-era U.S. military propaganda posters, Keene said. One poster depicted a U.S. soldier on an “educational training” ladder “Gathering the Fruit” of service such as ambition, confidence and health. Another, titled “Worth Working For,” showed a soldier holding a check from the U.S. government. Other posters emphasized working toward an honorable discharge, which soldiers can use to enhance employment after the war, Keene said.

These promises are largely unfulfilled in the post-WWI period of the Great Depression, Keene said. This fuels the disillusionment that gives rise to Veterans organizing for government benefits and to the bonus marches of the 1930s.

“I think it’s hard for us to understand why this becomes such a critical thing for Veterans after the war if we don’t take into account the ways in which the government is raising these expectations as men come in,” Keene said. “And in this sense, we continue to look at military service as a way you can improve your life and end up in a better position when you leave the service.”

Agitating for civil rights. The lack of opportunity given to Black Veterans drafted into WWI sparked their activism, too, said Keene. And they don’t wait to agitate for civil rights. Most of the 350,000 African Americans drafted into WWI, some arriving in France by ocean liner, served in dockside support units as stevedores or in other noncombat roles. With notable exceptions, they are seen as laborers not soldiers, Keene said.

Experiencing racial discrimination and violence while in camps ready to deploy and when overseas, Keene said, many African Americans soldiers acted. They organized public protests against mistreatment via the media and armed themselves against racial attack from White soldiers.

“I would urge you not to think about African American Veterans waiting until they got home to participate in civil rights protest,” Keene said. “And the fact that they were behind the lines actually gave them time and ability to do this. And so, in that sense, when they come back home to civilian society, they’re ready to go.”

Forming the fighter pilot culture. WWI influenced modern military culture, including the U.S. Air Force’s fighter pilot “mythos” that persists today, said historian Michael Hankins. He spoke at the museum’s 2018 symposium, when he was a professor at the U.S. Air Force Air Command and Staff College.

American pilots started to see themselves as the “knights of the air,” an image steeped in childhood storytelling and Greek and Roman mythology. He said pilots exhibited five characteristics: individualism, aggressiveness, use of heroic imagery, advocacy for technology that enhances fighter roles and protection of the fighter pilot community.

These traits are exhibited by the famous Lafayette Escadrille, a force of about 250 American pilots who volunteered to fly for France before the United States entered the war, he said.

Pilots in that force (and those in other squadrons, especially British ones) bragged about heading into German anti-aircraft fire to draw dogfights. Others exaggerated “kill counts,” which, Hankins said, “becomes a major problem” for all nations and leads to new rules for verifying who is killed in action. Case in point is that the Western Allies claimed to have shot down a total of 11,760 planes during the war, whereas the Germans recorded losing 3,000 planes on the Western Front.

WWI fighter pilot culture also dominated the debate over WWI aircraft technology, he said. Pilots praised advancements that make individual planes better in battle, whether faster, more maneuverable or more durable. No matter the preferred technology, pilots wanted the best “ace fighter” aircraft, Hankins said.

Yet Hankins said WWI archival documents illustrated a paradox of fighter pilot culture — that these “knights of the air” must be unafraid or immune from the trauma of war. He said his research documented WWI pilots expressing fears of flying, having nightmares and breaking down in battle.

This contradiction is seen in the letters of Henry R. Clay, an “ace” who served with the U.S. 41st and 148th aero squadrons who is credited with eight confirmed kills in the war. Writing to his sister, Clay romanticized his experience as a pilot, boasting about heroic tales of battle.

During the same time period, Clay penned a separate letter to his younger brother, who he learned wants to enlist as a pilot. The ace instead described the horror, the danger and the death of the war. “This game of war is the greatest game of chance you ever played,” Clay wrote.

Despite these private expressions of pain, it’s the public image of the mythic WWI fighter pilot that takes hold — enduring through “Snoopy” cartoons, the 1986 movie “Top Gun” and the still-used Hat in the Ring logo that once adorned the plane of WWI “ace of aces” Eddie Rickenbacker.

Learn more

Watch Keene’s lecture: https://rly.pt/3iWoBEj

Watch Hankins’s lecture: https://rly.pt/3i9IBEv

View an interactive timeline at the National WWI Museum and Memorial’s website: https://rly.pt/2WqgAzT

Find source materials on WWI: https://rly.pt/3i8hMAo

American Soldiers and World War I

Jennifer Keene talked about U.S. troops in World War I and how military service impacted their lives and changed American society and culture. She is the author of the book, [Doughboys, the Great War and the Remaking of America]. This talk was part of symposium hosted by the National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri.

Response by LTC Greg Henning made Jul 28 at 2021 3:29 PM

2021-07-28T15:29:09-04:00

Capt Brandon Charters Outstanding information. Plan on using this during the school year in my classes.

Response by LTC John Shaw made Jul 28 at 2021 4:00 PM

2021-07-28T16:00:52-04:00

Great WWI Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, MO

https://www.theworldwar.org/

National WWI Museum and Memorial

America’s official World War I museum and memorial, located in Kansas City, Mo. Home to the most comprehensive collection of WWI objects in the world.

Response by SGT Chris Padgett made Jul 29 at 2021 12:11 PM

2021-07-29T12:11:47-04:00

The world is still dealing with unresolved issues created from WWI.
The entire middle east being the biggest issue of all.

Response by MSG Thomas Currie made Jul 29 at 2021 2:20 PM

2021-07-29T14:20:42-04:00

One of the major lasting effects of WWI on the US Army is that WWI made the USMC a regular ground combat force rather than the limited expeditionary force it had been until then. WWII (especially in the Pacific) carved this change in stone, but it started with WWI.

Response by MSG Stan Hutchison made Jul 29 at 2021 2:50 PM

2021-07-29T14:50:23-04:00

The largest result from WWI was WWII.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 29 at 2021 2:55 PM

2021-07-29T14:55:04-04:00

It still awes me the geographic scars are still visible.

Response by Cpl Vic Burk made Jul 29 at 2021 7:33 PM

2021-07-29T19:33:39-04:00

Capt Brandon Charters Excellent share.

Response by SGT Scott Adie made Jul 29 at 2021 7:58 PM

2021-07-29T19:58:17-04:00

My families military history starting with the Great War, WW1 (copy and paste in your browser}:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_v-NKRRuB

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

Response by SSG Edward Tilton made Aug 1 at 2021 3:04 PM

2021-08-01T15:04:48-04:00

The Lost Battalion, 2nd Bn, 308th Inf

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Aug 2 at 2021 6:20 PM

2021-08-02T18:20:09-04:00

Germany was the most prepared nation to fight in the early stages of WWII because they looked at the failed doctrines and tactics of WWI in a methodical manner. What was planned? Offensive operations. What happened? Armies in the open were decimated during offensive operations. What was the fix? Tanks, mechanized infantry, air power to quickly gain momentum.

Their tactics did not lose the war. They lost because the US and Russia were bigger bullies.

Response by 1LT William Clardy made Aug 9 at 2021 9:37 PM

2021-08-09T21:37:03-04:00

And a fourth way:
https://www.armytimes.com/veterans/salute-veterans/2017/11/10/nov-11-1918-wasted-lives-on-armistice-day/

Nov. 11, 1918: Wasted Lives on Armistice Day

An essay from HistoryNet on the execution of the World War I armistice ... and how thousands on both sides may have died needlessly.