My Fellow Soldiers
Letters from World War I

Staying Neutral

Staying neutral became increasingly difficult for the United States as the war progressed. Between 1914 and early 1917, Americans sent humanitarian aid and volunteered medical services in war-torn countries. The relief work and America’s continued commercial trade with combatants raised questions about the nation’s neutrality.

A. Piatt Andrew at the AFS Headquarters in Paris, France in 1917.
A. Piatt Andrew to his parents August 18, 1916

Mr. A. Piatt Andrew, (American Field Service) to his parents, August 18, 1916. "[Mrs. Vanderbilt] immediately saw our difficulties and briskly and crisply set about to clear them away."

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Marion Doane, RN posing with about seven soldiers
Marion Doane, RN to her mother and sister

Nurse Marion Doane, to her mother and sister, March 5, 1917. "Never have I had such a heart ache as I had after listening to this man's tale."

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Commission for Relief in Belgium supplied food to civilians.
Belgian student Joseph Gregoire to President Woodrow Wilson

Belgian student Joseph Gregoire, to President Woodrow Wilson, February 27, 1915. "A terrible war was unleashed on Europe, and on our thriving Belgium."

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Commission for Relief in Belgium supplied food to civilians.
Belgian student Alexandre Lobet to President Woodrow Wilson

Belgian student Alexandre Lobet, to President Woodrow Wilson, February 27, 1915. "I just want to express my feelings of gratitude to the noble Nation of the United States."

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Refer to caption Commission for Relief in Belgium supplied food to civilians.
Belgian student Paul Mage to President Woodrow Wilson

Belgian student Paul Mage, to President Woodrow Wilson, February 27, 1915. "Famine would have long reigned here if American citizens, with their well- known generosity, had not come to the rescue of the Belgian people."

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Refer to caption Commission for Relief in Belgium supplied food to civilians.
Belgian student Rene Moureaux to President Woodrow Wilson

Belgian student Rene Moureaux, to President Woodrow Wilson, February 27, 1915. "I'd like to find enough eloquent words to express my gratitude for the good you have done."

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Refer to caption John Pershing with his wife and three of their children, 1909
Brigadier General John J. Pershing, to family friend Anne Boswell, November 3, 1915

Brigadier General John J. Pershing, to family friend Anne Boswell, November 3, 1915. "I shall be tied down with this border patrol indefinitely . . . and am really fortunate to have something to do."

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Refer to caption John Pershing with his wife and three of their children, 1909
Brigadier General John J. Pershing, to family friend Anne Boswell, October 5, 1915

Brigadier General John J. Pershing, to family friend Anne Boswell, October 5, 1915. "I am trying to work and keep from thinking; but Oh! The desolation of life . . . after such fullness as I have had."

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Refer to caption
Propaganda poster for US humanitarian aid, 1917-1918
Image credit: Library of Congress

My Fellow Soldiers