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Biography
other uses Doughboy is an informal term for an American soldier, especially members of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) in World War I . The term dates back to the Mexican–American War of 1846–48.
The term was used sparingly during World War II, gradually replaced by the appellations " GI (term)|G.I. ", " Troop ", or " Dogface (military)|Dogface ", but was still used in popular songs of the day, as in the 1942 song "Johnny Doughboy found a Rose in Ireland." http://www.dogfacesoldiers.org/info/dogface.htm The Dogface Soldier: Times were changing, though; that same year, two infantry soldiers wrote The Dogface Soldier, later officially adopted as the song of the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division. It dropped out of popular use soon after World War II.George, John B. (Lt. Col), Shots Fired In Anger , Samworth Press (1948), pp. xi, xii, 21: Lt. John George, an Army officer writing a World War II autobiographical postwar combat memoir in May 1947, freely used the term to describe himself and his fellow U.S. Army infantrymen.
Etymology
The term was in use in the 1840s.Dana, Napoleon Jackson Tecumseh (Lt), Monterrey Is Ours& #33; The Mexican War Letters of Lieutenant N.J.T. Dana, 1845-1847, University of Kentucky Press (1990), ISBN 0-8131-1703-8, ISBN 978-0-8131-1703-4: Lt. Dana, an infantryman in the Mexican-American War, wrote in a letter posted during the campaign, "We 'doughboys' had to wait for the artillery to get their carriages over."Chamberlain, Samuel, My Confessions: Recollections of a Rogue, Austin: Texas State Historical Association (1965): Chamberlain, a horse-mounted Dragoon in the Mexican-American War, wrote in his memoirs years later, "No man of any spirit and ambition would join the 'Doughboys' and go afoot." The origins are unclear. The most often cited explanation is that it arose during the Mexican–American War , after observers noticed U.S. infantry forces were constantly covered with chalky dust from marching through the dry terrain of northern Mexico , giving the men the appearance of unbaked dough .Hanlon, Michael E., The Origins of Doughboy, 16 June 2003, http://www.worldwar1.com/dbc/origindb.htm Origin of Term Doughboy Another suggestion has the term arising again from the Mexican–American War , and the dust-covered infantry men resembled the commonly used mud bricks of the area known as adobes.Hanlon, Michael E., The Origins of Doughboy, 16 June 2003, http://www.worldwar1.com/dbc/origindb.htm Origin of Term Doughboy Another suggestion is that doughboys were so named because of their method of cooking field ration s of the 1840s and 1850s, usually doughy flour and rice concoctions baked in the ashes of a camp fire, although this does not explain why only infantryman received the appellation.
Still another explanation involves catlinite|pipe clay , a substance with the appearance of dough used by pre-Civil War soldiers to clean their white garrison belts. The uniforms that were worn by American soldiers in the World War I era had very large buttons. The soldiers from allied nations suggested that the Americans were dressed like " Gingerbread Men " and then began to refer to the Americans as The Doughboys.citation needed|date=September 2011
See also
American Expeditionary Forces - the formal name
Dogface (military)
Frank Buckles - last Doughboy from World War I until his death in 2011.
Poilu - equivalent term for French soldiers of World War I
Tommy Atkins - equivalent term for British soldiers of World War I
References
Reflist
Further reading
Edith Margaret Faulstich|Faulstich, Edith. M. "The Siberian Sojourn" Yonkers, N.Y. (1972–1977)
Gawne, Jonathan. Over There!: The American Soldier in World War I (1999)- 83 pages, heavily illustrated
Grotelueschen, Mark Ethan. The AEF Way of War: The American Army and Combat in World War I (2006) http://www.amazon.com/dp/0521864348 excerpt and text search
Hallas, James H. Doughboy War: The American Expeditionary Force in World War I (2nd ed. 2009) http://www.questia.com/PM.qst? a=o& d=105946879 online edition; includes many primary sources from soldiers
Hoff, Thomas. US Doughboy 1916-19? (2005)
Kennedy, David M. Over Here: The First World War and American Society (1980) http://www.amazon.com/dp/0195173996/ excerpt and text search
Nelson, James Carl. The Remains of Company D:A Story of the Great War (2009)
Schafer, Ronald. America in the Great War (1991)
Skilman, Willis Rowland. The A.E.F.: Who They Were, what They Did, how They Did it (1920) 231 pp; http://books.google.com/books? id=U9NCAAAAIAAJ& printsec=frontcover& dq=intitle:aef& lr=& num=30& as_brr=3& ei=uzFYSOv7D4egiwGT_JClCQ full text online
Gene Smith|Smith, Gene . Until the Last Trumpet Sounds: The Life of General of the Armies John J. Pershing (1999), popular biography.
Snell, Mark A. Unknown Soldiers: The American Expeditionary Forces in Memory and Remembrance (2008)
Thomas, Shipley. The History of the A. E. F. (1920), 540pp; http://books.google.com/books? id=EMoLAAAAYAAJ& printsec=frontcover& dq=intitle:aef& lr=& num=30& as_brr=3& ei=uzFYSOv7D4egiwGT_JClCQ full text online
Votow, John. The American Expeditionary Forces in World War I (2005) - 96 pp; http://www.amazon.com/dp/1841766224 excerpt and text search
Werner, Bret. Uniforms, Equipment And Weapons of the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I (2006)
External links
commons category
http://www.worldwar1.com/dbc/ghq1arm.htm Doughboy Center stories from the AEF
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110228/ap_on_re_us/us_obit_last_wwi_veteran Last "Doughboy" dies at 110
Category:Military slang and jargon Category:United States Army
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Copyright Citations
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