The experiences of American soldiers in World War I differed enormously from those of European combatants. With the U. S. emerging from its previous isolation, soldiers arrived in the European theater late, fought briefly, and soon found themselves among the victors. Exposed for the first time to a foreign culture and bombarded by the messages of America's first concerted propaganda campaign, doughboys and other American participants struggled to make sense of their role and participation in the war.
Mark Meigs here juxtaposes more official views--as expressed in speeches and in The Stars and Stripes, army handbooks, and unit histories--with informal, widely disseminated sources, such as popular songs, jokes, and postwar fiction, together with the soldiers' own letters and journals. Optimism at Armageddon begins with an exploration of how Americans rationalized their involvement and goes on to examine the effects of veterans' experiences during the war, focusing on combat, cultural and sexual contact with their European hosts, and death and concludes with the doughboys' account of their return to American society.