In April 1918, a young woman from Montclair, N.J., sailed to France to begin work as a canteen worker for the YMCA. From the early days of American involvement in the Great War, she had wanted to do her part and even confessed that she wished that she “had been a man to have a small part in this great conflict.” This presentation considers the experiences of the 3,500 women like her who served coffee and donuts to doughboys across France, and in the process, began a long history of American women going to war to bring a bit of home to the front lines.
Dr. Kara Dixon Vuic, LCpl Benjamin W. Schmidt Professor of War, Conflict, and Society in Twentieth-Century America at Texas Christian University.
Lecture given as part of the National WWI Museum and Memorial's 2018 Symposium, 1918: Crucible of War.
Symposium presenting sponsor: Pritzker Military Museum & Library