The Stars and Stripes

Articles from The Stars and Stripes

The First of Many Inaccurate War Movies Reviewed
(The Stars and Stripes, 1918)

The production of inaccurate war flicks with unlikely plots is a proud tradition that is alive and well in every film capitol around the globe and not likely to vanish any time soon. Today’s film critics seem to have a good deal more patience when reviewing the genre -as compared to the jaded, old ink-slinger who was charged with the task of summing up this silent film from 1918: On to Berlin.

The American-made war dramas must be giving the folks back home a swell idea of what The War isn’t like…William Fox is accused of producing On to Berlin

Plundered: The Grave of Joyce Kilmer
(The Stars and Stripes, 1918)

Best known for his 1913 poem, Trees, Joyce Kilmer (1886 – 1918) served as a Sergeant in the 69th Infantry Regiment (Forty Second Division). On July 30, 1918, he took a German bullet in the head and was buried not far from where he fell.

This short piece reported of the despoiling of that grave by his fellow Americans.

Trench Coat by Junior
(The Stars and Stripes, 1918)

Laboring under the most intense preasure, the harried ad man of 1918 enthused about the Junior Store’s latest trench coat just so:

This coat meets every specification of what a trench coat should be. The collar, when turned up, forms a Storm Proof Collar and has an extra wrap fixed to the shoulder to cover the fastening and make it waterproof.

Night Patrol in the Toul Sector
(Stars and Stripes, 1918)

Mr. Junius B. Wood, correspondent of the CHICAGO DAILY NEWS with the A.E.F. recently spent a week in the sector held by the American Army Northwest of Toul. He lived the life of a Doughboy, slept a little and saw a lot. He spent his days in and near the front line and some of his nights in No Man’s Land. Here is the second and concluding installment of his story, depicting life at the front as it actually is…

Click here to read an article about the German veterans of W.W. I.

The Talent for Sniping: Native Americans on the Western Front
(The Stars and Stripes, 1919)

It was not beyond the editors of THE STARS and STRIPES to indulge in ethnic stereotyping from time to time and, no doubt, they exercised that privilege here as well, however the performance of the American Indian soldier got high marks for a number of valued skills from many Allied officers on the Western Front. It was not simply their ability to shoot well which invited these compliments, but also their instincts while patrolling No-Man’s Land in the dark in addition to a common sense of bravery shared by all. The article is rich with a number of factoids that the Western Front reader will no doubt enjoy; among them, mention is made of German women serving in combat.

Read some magazine articles about one of the great failed inventions of the Twentieth Century: the Soviet Union.

The Talent for Sniping: Native Americans on the Western Front
(The Stars and Stripes, 1919)

It was not beyond the editors of THE STARS and STRIPES to indulge in ethnic stereotyping from time to time and, no doubt, they exercised that privilege here as well, however the performance of the American Indian soldier got high marks for a number of valued skills from many Allied officers on the Western Front. It was not simply their ability to shoot well which invited these compliments, but also their instincts while patrolling No-Man’s Land in the dark in addition to a common sense of bravery shared by all. The article is rich with a number of factoids that the Western Front reader will no doubt enjoy; among them, mention is made of German women serving in combat.

Read some magazine articles about one of the great failed inventions of the Twentieth Century: the Soviet Union.

The Talent for Sniping: Native Americans on the Western Front
(The Stars and Stripes, 1919)

It was not beyond the editors of THE STARS and STRIPES to indulge in ethnic stereotyping from time to time and, no doubt, they exercised that privilege here as well, however the performance of the American Indian soldier got high marks for a number of valued skills from many Allied officers on the Western Front. It was not simply their ability to shoot well which invited these compliments, but also their instincts while patrolling No-Man’s Land in the dark in addition to a common sense of bravery shared by all. The article is rich with a number of factoids that the Western Front reader will no doubt enjoy; among them, mention is made of German women serving in combat.

Read some magazine articles about one of the great failed inventions of the Twentieth Century: the Soviet Union.

The Talent for Sniping: Native Americans on the Western Front
(The Stars and Stripes, 1919)

It was not beyond the editors of THE STARS and STRIPES to indulge in ethnic stereotyping from time to time and, no doubt, they exercised that privilege here as well, however the performance of the American Indian soldier got high marks for a number of valued skills from many Allied officers on the Western Front. It was not simply their ability to shoot well which invited these compliments, but also their instincts while patrolling No-Man’s Land in the dark in addition to a common sense of bravery shared by all. The article is rich with a number of factoids that the Western Front reader will no doubt enjoy; among them, mention is made of German women serving in combat.

Read some magazine articles about one of the great failed inventions of the Twentieth Century: the Soviet Union.

The Talent for Sniping: Native Americans on the Western Front
(The Stars and Stripes, 1919)

It was not beyond the editors of THE STARS and STRIPES to indulge in ethnic stereotyping from time to time and, no doubt, they exercised that privilege here as well, however the performance of the American Indian soldier got high marks for a number of valued skills from many Allied officers on the Western Front. It was not simply their ability to shoot well which invited these compliments, but also their instincts while patrolling No-Man’s Land in the dark in addition to a common sense of bravery shared by all. The article is rich with a number of factoids that the Western Front reader will no doubt enjoy; among them, mention is made of German women serving in combat.

Read some magazine articles about one of the great failed inventions of the Twentieth Century: the Soviet Union.

Advertisements: Five Ads for Military Wrist Watches
( S & S, 1918 and Die Welt Spiegel, 1914)

The Great War held firsts in many categories (first big air war, first poison gas war, first submarine war) and it was also the first war in which the wrist watch played an important part. Four of the attached ads appeared in THE STARS AND STRIPES between 1918 and 1919 while the sole German ad that is posted first appeared during opening months of the conflict. Also provided is a color photograph of a World War One watch housed in one of the many types of wrist-bands available at that time.

The Ninetieth Division: Texas and Oklahoma
(Stars and Stripes, 1919)

An illustration of the insignia patch and a brief account of the origins, deployments and war-time activities of the U.S. Army’s 90th Infantry Division during World War One. We have also provided a review of A History of the 90th Division by Major George Wythe (which the reviewer didn’t especially care for but nonetheless provides a colorful account of the division’s history in France).

The Seventy-Eighth Division
(Stars and Stripes, 1919)

An illustration of the insignia patch and a brief account of the origins, deployments and war-time activities of the U.S. Army’s Seventy-Eighth Division in the First World War

<img.

Although the unit arrived rather late, it saw a great deal of combat.

The Demands of the 1918 Armistice
(The Stars and Stripes, 1918)

Attached herein are the terms of the 1918 Armistice as they appeared in the official newspaper of the American Expeditionary Forces:

The complete official translated text of the Armistice conditions to which the German plenipotentiaries set their signature is herewith reproduced:

1.) Cessations of operations by land and in air six hours after the signature of armistice.

II.)Immediate evacuation of the invaded countries…

etc, etc, etc…

There Are Additional Magazine
Articles About W.W. I

The Women’s Overseas Corps
(The Stars and Stripes, 1918)

Five thousand women are to be brought from the United States to be a part of the American Expeditionary Forces…The Women’s Overseas Corps (WOCS) will consist of companies of 50 women each. The members of the WOC will be under soldierly discipline and wear uniforms…It is not expected that they will march in formation or observe the formalities of the salute.

These women were recruited by Miss Elsie Gunther of the Labor Bureau in order to relieve the men posted to the Service of Supply of their clerical duties for service at the front; in light of the fact that the war ended six weeks later it is unlikely that the these women ever arrived.

The American Army Occupies Coblenz, Germany
(The Stars and Stripes, 1918)

On the afternoon of December 8, 1918, the troops of the Third American Army entered Koblenz. This was the goal of the occupation. The Yankees had reached the Rhine.

Probably never in all its stressful history did enemy troops enter it so in quite the matter-of-fact manner which marked the American entry last Sunday. There was no band. There were no colors. ‘We’re just going in sort of casual like,’ one of our generals had said the day before, and he was right.

How American Fighter Pilots Were Credited For Wins
(The Stars and Stripes, 1918)

Here is an explanation from the official newspaper of the A.E.F. as to how World War I American fighter pilots were credited for their victories in the war against Germany.

Click here to read an article about the development of aerial reconnaissance during W.W. I.

A.E.F. Uniform Insignia: Division Markings Barred From States
(Stars and Stripes, 1919)

This uniform regulation was printed for all home bound Doughboys to see early in 1919; the order was later rescinded, however, it seemed that the General who was placed in charge of all state-side Army units during World War One disliked the European style military fashions that the A.E.F. was affecting. He also wished to ban the trench coat, over-seas cap, puttees and the Sam Brown Belt.

How Yank Aviators Were Credited For Wins
(The Stars and Stripes, 1918)

An explanation from the official newspaper of the A.E.F. as to how the First World War American fighter pilots were credited for their victories in the war against Germany.