Americans All!: Foreign-born Soldiers in World War I

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments xi Acknowledgments I became interested in both ethnic studies and military history while in graduate school at Temple University. At first, researching immigrant soldiers of the American Army during the First World War proved difficult, and this book, an exciting journey through a variety of archives, almost came to an abrupt end with my first investigation. I was about to admit defeat at locating any information about these men, when an archivist at the National Archives suggested that I examine the Military Intelligence Division records since “unusual things have been found in the MID files.” Unfortunately, the organization of MID correspondence, filed alphabetically by the name of the correspondent, proved yet another obstacle. Since I did not know the names associated with foreign-born soldiers, I began with “A” and continued through days of tedious searching looking for clues concerning the treatment and training of immigrant troops. Fierce determination kept me focused on my mission and gave me the energy to fight off hundreds of genealogists eyeing my microfilm reader. Finally on the third day, success. Under the name D. Chauncy Brewer (thank God his name wasn’t Zimmerman) was a list of MIDfiles on alien soldiers.The game was afoot. I have many people to thank for their efficient and professional assistance during my research: MitchellYocelson of the National Archives and RecordsAdministration,Washington,D.C.;LouiseArnold-FriendandDavid Keough of the United States Army Military History Institute, Carlisle Barracks , Carlisle, Pennsylvania; Josephine Crossley, Nancy Weyant, and Alice Getty of the Andruss Library, Bloomsburg University, Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania ;andthestaffsof theAmericanJewishHistoricalSociety,Waltham, Massachusetts; the Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies, Philadelphia; the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; Seeley G. Mudd Library, Princeton,NewJersey;theFreeLibraryof Philadelphia;theYMCAArchives at the University of Minnesota; and the YWCA Archives in New York City. Since this book grew out of my dissertation, I must thank the United States Army Center of Military History in Washington, D.C., and Temple University for their dissertation fellowships. A very special thank you goes to my dissertation committee: Kenneth L. Kusmer and Russell F. Weigley of xii Acknowledgments Temple University and Randall Miller of St. Joseph’s University—you all helped mold me from a raw recruit into a fighting soldier. A personal thank you goes to my graduate-school friends who read all or part of my work: Kim Juntunen, David Reichard, Deborah Prosser, Mike DiPietro, and Doug Karsner.JenniferKeene—afellowWorldWarIresearcher—andIkeptstumbling across each other in various archives, and we have since become good friends. I am grateful for the many inspiring conversations we had on the Great War. Since receiving my doctorate, I have spent a considerable amount of time continuing my research, and I have found a significant amount of new material that helped reshape the direction of my work. Thanks to Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania for reassign time and research and disciplinary grants that allowed me to turn a dissertation into a book. Thanks to the following Bloomsburg friends for their assistance in reading all or part of the manuscript: Kim Humphrey, Eileen Kovach, and Mary Ellen Zeisloft.Specialthanksgotomyformerdepartmentchair,JimSperry,whose constantsupportandkindwordshelpedmeendurethelonghoursof teaching , research, and writing. Noel Parsons, Diana Vance, Gabriel Salas, and Mia Sanders from Texas A&M University Press and freelance editor Kevin Brock have been a delight to work with, and I thank them all for their dedication and professionalism. Kevin and the two anonymous readers offered invaluable suggestions that helped me fine-tune the manuscript. I have been blessed with many good friends along the way, particularly Cindy Lotz O’Connell—who encouraged me to follow my dreams when we were freshmen in college—and Kara and Ron Shultz—who have never stopped encouraging me since thatfirst academic year. A very special gratitude goes to my wonderful husband, David Ford, who I met in the early stages of my research. David, thank you for reading over my work, sharing many an all-nighter, and especially for retiring your commission with the United States Navy to join me in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. Thanks also to my stepdaughter, Miranda, who has grown from a mischievous kindergartner into a beautiful teenager—all while I was working on this book! I must also thank my family for their love and encouragement: my parents, Sam and Jackie Gentile, and the rest of the Gentile clan, Frank, Lorrie, Kristi, Julie, Jim, Denise, Jessica, Dan, Nicole, Corrina, Jake, and Mickey. Thanks also to my in-laws, Pat and Bob Ford, my sister-in-law, Robin, and...