So numerous were the khaki-clad immigrants who filled the ranks of the U.S. Army during the First World War that our British allies would often refer to the A.E.F. as the "American Foreign Legion"; yet as grateful as the services were to have so many additional strong backs to deploy during a time of national emergency, it was not without a cost.
The attached article was all about how the army addressed this issue regarding the high number of illiterate immigrants who filled their divisions spanning the years 1917 through 1920.
It was later discovered that a full sixty percent of the invalided Doughboys were mentally deficient, and the Army was unable to screen them out - you can read about that here
Click here to read more statistics about the American military of the First World War.
From Amazon:
Americans All!: Foreign-Born Soldiers in World War I
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