Initially the Volunteer American troops of the AEF (Regular Army & National Guard) DID in fact accept the term “Sammies” as a moniker for “Uncle Sam’s Boys.” This distinguished those who served in the trenches long before the draft troops of the U.S. National Army had even arrived. Later, with the huge influx of draft troops into the AEF the term “doughboy” became universally applied to all.
For proof of this, visit Soldier’s Mail which features the writings home of U.S. Sgt Sam Avery from the front lines of American involvement in the Great War. Fascinating eyewitness history from the hot sands along the Rio Grande to the cold mud along the Meuse.
Rob McCormack:
November 24th, 2013 at 6:20 am
The first time that I encountered the word “Sammies” was in a March 1918 edition of the Interior Journal newspaper (Stanford, KY). The “gallant” Lincoln County boys prepared for departure to Camp Taylor (Louisville, KY) as hundreds of their friends and relatives gathered to bade them God-speed in the “splendid work to which they had dedicated their lives.” On one occasion, it was intended that Judge Charles A. Hardin, who was holding court in Stanford was to lead a pep rally for the boys with a speech at the depot, but the special train pulled in earlier than was expected and the young men and their friends were denied the treat. The Red Cross Chapter in Stanford presented each of the “Sammies” with a sweater and a “housewife” (a case containing needles, pins and thread).
David Shedlock:
November 14th, 2019 at 12:47 pm
I have a real photo postcard, by “Dawson”, dated April 3, 1918, showing a large group of American Soldiers entitled: “Galesburg “Sammies” “Enroute to Berlin”
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Soldier's Mail:
December 6th, 2009 at 10:41 am
Initially the Volunteer American troops of the AEF (Regular Army & National Guard) DID in fact accept the term “Sammies” as a moniker for “Uncle Sam’s Boys.” This distinguished those who served in the trenches long before the draft troops of the U.S. National Army had even arrived. Later, with the huge influx of draft troops into the AEF the term “doughboy” became universally applied to all.
For proof of this, visit Soldier’s Mail which features the writings home of U.S. Sgt Sam Avery from the front lines of American involvement in the Great War. Fascinating eyewitness history from the hot sands along the Rio Grande to the cold mud along the Meuse.
Rob McCormack:
November 24th, 2013 at 6:20 am
The first time that I encountered the word “Sammies” was in a March 1918 edition of the Interior Journal newspaper (Stanford, KY). The “gallant” Lincoln County boys prepared for departure to Camp Taylor (Louisville, KY) as hundreds of their friends and relatives gathered to bade them God-speed in the “splendid work to which they had dedicated their lives.” On one occasion, it was intended that Judge Charles A. Hardin, who was holding court in Stanford was to lead a pep rally for the boys with a speech at the depot, but the special train pulled in earlier than was expected and the young men and their friends were denied the treat. The Red Cross Chapter in Stanford presented each of the “Sammies” with a sweater and a “housewife” (a case containing needles, pins and thread).
David Shedlock:
November 14th, 2019 at 12:47 pm
I have a real photo postcard, by “Dawson”, dated April 3, 1918, showing a large group of American Soldiers entitled: “Galesburg “Sammies” “Enroute to Berlin”