NYT: The Army's Message to Returning WWI Troops: Behave Yourselves

[gwb123]

From the New York Times:

 

The Army's Message to Returning World War I Troops? Behave Yourselves

 

While the US military is good at training soldiers, it seems it has always struggled with how to return them to civilian life. This article and the exhibit it refers to shows this was as much a problem in WWI as it is today.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/31/magazine/world-war-i-veterans-treatment.html

 

"A series of posters — on display at the National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, Mo., until Sept. 15 — designed by the Army to show America’s discharged soldiers how they should behave once they returned to civilian life, provides evidence of the nation’s blindness to the toll modern war took on those who endured it. The Army didn’t want the flood of veterans returning home to become a disruptive presence or a financial burden on society."

 

"The shelling stopped on Nov. 11, 1918, sending millions of American soldiers back to the United States to pick up where they had left off before joining or being drafted into the war effort. For one officer, the return meant facing a perfunctory public welcome and superficial support. “The quick abandonment of interest in our overseas men by Americans in general,” he observed three years after the Armistice, “is an indictment against us as a nation, not soon to be forgotten by the men in uniform from the other side.” The soldier, a former Army officer later identified as Herbert B. Hayden, anonymously published his observations in an essay for The Atlantic Monthly. The severe effects of combat-related injuries, like the ones Hayden described in his essay, drew more public attention during the 1920s, when the figure of the shellshocked veteran became part of larger debates over the government’s responsibility to care for its military forces."

 

Apparently in this first poster the message is that Corporal Grumpy is going to have a hard time finding a job in the civilian world unless he has an attitude change. More than likely he came into the military with that attitude and would carry it with him for the rest of his life. Either that, or the things he saw in action pounded the positive out of him.

[gwb123]

More posters from the exhibit, courtesy of the cited NYT article:

 

One would be forgiven for mistaking the soldier in uniform for a Boy Scout who was contemplating all the Good Deeds he was going to do that day.

 

It seems the Army's advice in the second one is to stand at attention during your job interview.

[gwb123]

A couple more...

 

The first one reveals that soldiers did not drink in public while wearing a uniform.

 

The second one is a call to civic action. One can image how welcome the returning soldier was in gathering the town's leadership and walking them through the changes needed in their community. One can just hear them thinking "Funny, I never noticed that pile of trash before until this young man with the heavy wool overcoat pointed it out to me." The period male civilian stereotypes make this one special on its own.

[gwb123]

A commentary on dining safety in 1918.

 

If the series number is to be believed, there were at least 45 of these posters.

 

Naively missing from these examples is no mention of dealing with grievous wounds and shell shock. It would take disgruntled veterans and social reformers to bring these issues to the public eye. It would happen again after WWII and Vietnam.

[world war I nerd]

Very interesting subject - one that I certainly was not aware of. It's amazing how much printed matter, of the patriotic and propaganda type, was generated in the United States during WW I. I'm guessing that a lot of illustrators, graphic artists and copy writers were kept very, very busy.

 

At least one of the posters depicted in the above topic was also released in a postcard format during the war. I'm sure there were more, but, so far, I'm only aware of one. I came across this example on Stewarts Military Antiques.com. Too bad it was already sold though.

[gwb123]

World War I Nerd... I thought you would like this.

 

If you do a Google Image search for "Gordon Grant Artist World War I", you will find more examples.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_Grant_(artist)

[gwb123]

Some more examples from a similar article...

 

https://artssummary.com/2019/04/11/were-home-now-what-at-ellis-gallery-national-wwi-museum-and-memorial-through-september-8-2019/

 

"The exhibition highlights a collection of posters commissioned by the U.S. Army, General Staff’s Morale Section. All but one poster were created by Gordon Grant, an Army captain and illustrator during World War I. These posters communicate messages about how an honorably discharged serviceman can make a positive impact on their community through appearance and conduct. The posters are essentially an instructional tool, conveying an image of a model former serviceman who uses the discipline, can-do attitude and leadership skills, developed while in the service.” — National WWI Museum and Memorial

 

And of course the one poster that was not by Grant was by James Montgomery Flagg, the artist who did "I Want You, for the US Army" with Uncle Sam.

 

My Dad held onto his SGLI (Servicemen's Group Life Insurance) from the Korean War era for decades.

[gwb123]

"I am still a soldier". is a theme you will hear from today's veterans. Once you have served, a part of that stays with you for the rest of your life. (Like waking up from a dead sleep thinking you are late for formation and looking for your boots.)

 

Notice at the bottom of the picture of the returning soldier a promise not to disgrace the uniform.

[gwb123]

This one was meant to be a morale booster for the service and supply troops. Despite never firing a shot in anger, they too were entitled to hold their heads high when they returned from the Great War. Of course, depending on their specialty and skill, they actually may of had a better chance of finding a job as opposed to the infantry or artillery troops.

[gwb123]

I suppose the intent of this one is "don't let the home folks, who worried and prayed for your safe return, down". While well intentioned, many of he troops that returned home just were not the same as when they had left, no matter how hard they would try.

[world war I nerd]

Gil, thanks for adding more examples of Gordon Grant's artwork. His work has a very distinctive style that I personally find attractive. I have no idea how many of the illustrations he created for Uncle Sam during the Great War were turned into postcards. I've already posted one that I do not own in this topic, but I'll follow up with two examples of WW I postcards bearing artwork created by Gordon Grant that I do possess.

 

"Once Selected Always Respected"

[world war I nerd]

"Corporal of the Guard, a Grouch"

[Salvage Sailor]

"Corporal of the Guard, a Grouch"

 

Nice One!

[RustyCanteen]

I remember seeing an occupation era AEF cartoon expressing the sentiment that 'home' changed while they were gone fighting overseas; a 'dry' land sans the spirits they had been accustomed to before (and during) the war.

[world war I nerd]

In response to RC's post regarding the absence of alcoholic beverages when they returned home due to Volstead Act, which gave America prohibition, here are a couple of wartime anti-alcohol circulars/posters aimed at America's servicemen.

[world war I nerd]

Another WW I anti-alcohol poster.

[mccooper]

Great posters! Thanks for sharing.

 

mccooper

[rd12]

Neat thread, I have an example of the postcard regarding "souvenirs", I didn't realize there were so many others.

[rd12]

Here's a picture of mine. The coloring looks to match the one in post #5.

 

[gwb123]

Yep... same artist, Gordon Grant, Captain, US Army.

 

Apparently back in the day images were quite often reused for multiple purposes.