Existing comment:
The Doughboys:
-- "... this country has but one army, the Army of the United States." -- General Peyton C. March, July 31, 1918
American divisions were twice as large as those of the European powers. With 28,500 doughboys in each, they became known as square divisions. And to offset the anonymity and standardization of the new Army, citizen-soldiers of the AEF chose nicknames for their divisions and eventually adopted distinctive shoulder patches to display their new identities. The 32nd Division, based on the pre-war Wisconsin and Michigan National Guard, became the "Red Arrow Division." The 42nd Division, which had absorbed several Wisconsin units, became the "Rainbow Division." The 1st Division, which also contained groups of Wisconsinites, became the "Big Red One".
Of the 122,215 Wisconsinites drafted or enlisted during the First World War, some served in new divisions or in existing regular Army units. Others served in divisions which had been created the National Guard of states such as Illinois. Regardless of the different shoulder patches they wore, however, the doughboys made up the first mass national Army in American history. |