Observations regarding the earliest Doughboy experiences were recorded in a letter home by this unknown American lieutenant during the Summer of 1917. He was unusually interested in the French architecture and rustic culture that surrounded him but also noted the deeply depressed German P.O.W. laborers, his food and the different treatment between officers and men: "We were in heaven compared with privates who were packed in the cattle cars like sardines in a can...Our men gave vent to to about five minutes of lusty cussing when they were shown their quarters, and then came off their blouses, brooms were improvised; the officers were quartered in the best rooms..." |
