We’ve come a long way in the past century, when the government discharged veterans with little help to resume their lives and careers, and Americans viewed their return as a challenge to their standard of living. As a Post editorial observed,

In time, millions of Americans will be released from military service and return to civil life… [already] war’s enormous demands upon industry are diminishing or have ceased.

A good many people are disturbed over that prospect.

Various expedients have been suggested—some of them admirable, such as reclaim­ing more land for agriculture by irrigation, drainage, and so on. ["Demobilizing" Nov. 30, 1918]

The expedient to which they referred was the land-reclamation project launched by Franklin K. Lane, the Secretary of the Interior. The Post offered Lane’s own explanation of the project:

“These boys will come back. How are we to meet them? They will be proud; they will have seen the world as we have never been able to see it; they will have a spirit that we will envy and a comradeship that we can never have.We do not want to give them charity. We could not if we wanted to.

“[However] we have approximately from 200 million to 250 million acres of land at present unused which can be made as productive as any agricultural land in the world.

“It is an easy thing to do. The land is there; and we should say to the boys… ‘Here is a job at your hand; current wages, four dollars a day, if you please. Go; build dams on the Colorado Rivera. Go; redeem swamps in Southern Maryland. Go; clear the lands in Northern Michigan.” ["When the Boys Get Back From France," Nov. 30, 1918]

The ultimate goal was to create new farm land in the western states, which veterans could buy with a 10% down payment.

“[The veteran-farmer] will add to the wealth of the nation; but he will add far more than the physical wealth—he will add a richness of life and independence of spirit, and have in his heart always gladness, because he…found on his return that he had come back to a republic that was not ungrateful.

“The opportunity is…to bring the land and the soldier together, to provide work and homes for hundreds of thousands of American citizens, to furnish a supply of foodstuffs sufficient for our growing population.”

It was an admirable idea to many, but Emerson Hough, the Post’s “Out-Of-Doors” columnist, saw it as a threat to the wilderness.

Secretary Lane’s reclamation idea is born out of this war. It surely will tend to kill American outdoor sports.

The interior Department has taken stock of every acre of wild land in America—marsh, forest, desert or foothill. Millions of acres of unused lands have been discovered which are now to be utilized—

Surely this means that the last of the American wild places are to be used as soon as possible. The last resort of wild game—the last home of the last bird and beast—is to be cleared, drained, plowed and planted. Enter industry; exit game; exit sport. Enter a new country and new philosophy of all work and no play—unless that shall be play in some rich man’s yard.

It [could mean] the growth of the law of trespass; a future of less and less open sport in America.["Sport After the War," March 1, 1918]

Both Lane and Hough were wrong.

The wilderness did not disappear. The hydroelectric projects did not destroy the beauty of places like

Crop failures, drought, and falling prices doomed many farms, and farm towns like this one in Keota, Colorado.

Jackson Lake in Jackson Hole, as Hough declared they would. Even more land was set aside for national parks, making the wilderness open to more Americans.

Lane’s hope for a new generation of veteran-farmers never materialized either. When the Federal government stopped buying food for the war effort, farmers had surplus crops at the 1918 and 1919 harvest. Prices dropped. Farms failed. New farms made in the high plains of the Dakotas, Montana, and Colorado quickly depleted the soil, adding to the number of farm failures. In 1920, for the first time, more Americans lived in towns and cities than farms.

Instead of choosing careers for veterans, today’s GI benefits help veterans pursue their own futures. And have proven a much wiser investment.

America’s Early Effort to Honor Its Veterans The Saturday Evening Post

The world didn’t know what to expect when America entered the First World War. America hadn’t yet proved itself among the old-world powers. Sure, we had beaten Spain’s colonial troops in Cuba and the Philippines, but we had yet to face a modern, motivated, successful army. Specifically, we hadn’t fought the German army, which had already defeated Russia and planted itself immovably on French soil.

Generals in France and England were looking forward to the fresh American troops we would supply them. They had little regard for the skill and organization of our fighting forces. They just wanted to throw our soldiers into their lines and continue the strategies that had already cost them millions of their own troops.

In June, 1918, they learned that America would be far more than just a source of manpower. America purchases this respect through a relentless, 25-day battle through a dense forest against an entrenched German position.

This proving ground was Belleau Wood.

“Thirty German divisions had been hurled against seven French and British division on a forty-mile front. The inevitable happened. Exhausted after weeks of incessant fighting, the French were compelled to fall back. For six days they had retreated disheartened and disorganized. Human endurance could stand no more. It was in this critical hour that the French high command decided to call on the Americans.”

The account is taken from “The Americanization of Belleau Wood,” by Isaac F. Marcosson, in the November 14, 1925 issue of The Saturday Evening Post.

“In their plunge to the south the Germans occupied the little towns of Belleau, Torey and Bussaires … Here they dug three line of trenches—the first was at the southern end—and installed scores of machine-gun nests. Lines of barbed wire and sharpshooter holes completed what was a strong natural defense due to the thick underbrush and heavy trees. “Garrisoned with infantry and alive with machine gunners, it was too strong a fortress to be allowed to remain in enemy hands. The Wood had to be cleared, and the task fell to the Marines, who, on June second, comprised the only American unit that had arrived on the scene.

“The French wanted to run the show, but [US Army] General Harbord asked to be let alone. He said, ‘Let us fight in our way and we will stop them.’ He won out and was given a free hand. Thus it came about that Belleau Wood was the first engagement in the war in which our troops went on their own.”

What followed was not the gallant combat of movies, but a grim, desperate struggle—a fight for survival as much as for victory. The Marines held their ground and slowly, slowly pushed forward. They came into the fight exhausted and under-equipped. They fought for weeks without reinforcements, suffering incredible casualty rates.

“The Marines … knew that it was up to them to stop the Germans and they did it. They went into Belleau Wood across a wheat field swept by a withering fire. Once inside those dim confines they stayed. From June second until the last German was routed out of the forest on June twenty-fifth, Belleau Wood was the scene of what was probably the bitterest hand-to-hand fighting in the war. Those silent aisles of oak, birch and pine witnessed deeds of individual heroism that in other conflicts would have stood out as epic feats. At Belleau Wood they were merely part of the day’s work.

The Americanization of Belleau Wood
by Isaac F. Marcosson
November 14, 1925

“The Marines did the job, but at heavy cost. In and around the Wood the slain were in the proportion of about one to every five wounded, while the usual battle ration is one killed to every seven or eight wounded. It means that many wounded soldiers remained in the fight until killed by a second or third wound.”

The Aisne-Marne American Cemetery was built after the war near the site of this battle. It holds the grave of 2,200 American soldiers killed in the fighting of 1918.

The original name of the region was Blois de Belle Eau, or the Woods of Beautiful Waters. In recognition of the sacrifice of our troops, France has permanently changed the name to The Woods of the Marine Brigade.

The First World War ended on November 11, 1918. The anniversary of that date has now become Veterans Day, honoring all veterans, of all wars.

On this day, we should remember the veterans among us, and the service they have performed for our country. Recognition and gratitude are never wasted in his direction. But we should also remember the thousands of Americans whose remains rest in 24 cemeteries around the world:

Aisne-Marne, France

Ardennes, Belgium

Brittany, France

Brookwood, England

Cambridge, England

Corozal, Panama

Epinal, France

Flanders Field, Belgium

Florence, Italy

Henri-Chapelle, Belgium

Lorraine, France

Luxembourg, Luxembourg

Manila, Philippines

Meuse-Argonne, France

Mexico City, Mexico

Margraten, Netherlands

Normandy, France

Tunis, Tunisia

Oise-Aisne, France

Rhone, France

Sicily-Rome, Italy

Somme, France

St. Mihiel, France

Suresnes, France

For more information on these cemeteries, and the battles with which they are associated, go to abmc.gov/home.php .

The World Is Forced to Re-Evaluate America’s Military Power The Saturday Evening Post

He’s in the Army now. A seldom seen cover from December 1942 by John Atherton shows a faithful dog and a photo. From the uniform, we can guess where the master is. We hope he returns home soon–Spot is itching to go hunting.

The enlisted also included the ladies, as shown in a delightful cover from 1942 by an artist named Gilbert Bundy. A member of the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) walking by the shop can’t help but notice the pretty little hat on the mannequin. Someday soon, she thinks, I’ll be able to wear pretty things again.

One of our most endearing covers of a soldier is from the prolific J.C. Leyendecker. This December 1917 cover shows a WWI soldier in Europe sharing a humble meal with a local native, the “native” being an irresistible little girl.

On the May 14, 1927, cover by artist E. M. Jackson, a sailor accomplished an important mission in the Orient—finding a genuine American hot dog!

Celebrating soldiers, sailors, and marines—the 1937 cover by John Sheridan captures all three, with a parade below in their honor. Just as it should be.

Norman Rockwell honored the military during the WWII years with several covers of the “every soldier” he named Willie Gillis. We’ve shown Willie’s military adventures before, but not this one from 1941. Rockwell’s famous private is home on leave, snuggled under the quilts and enjoying the luxury of sleeping late. The sign above the bed echoes our ardent wish for all our military men and women: Home Sweet Home.

Classic Covers: A Salute to Veterans The Saturday Evening Post

Nothing is as welcome to Americans in military service as the knowledge that their families are safe, secure, and supported back home.

Thanks to the American Red Cross, men and women on a mission, in training, or stationed far from home can stay connected.

The Emergency Communications Service, a division of the American Red Cross, offers emergency communications for family members of  Americans on active duty and members of the National Guard and Reserves.

It also helps families prepare for the deployment of a loved one. Last year, Red Cross workers briefed 974,573 departing service members.

They provided information about family support services and how the Red Cross could assist them with emergency funding for food, fuel, or transportation.

The American Red Cross Service to Armed Forces also recruits volunteers for military and veterans hospitals throughout the country. It has expanded work in military hospitals to support the recently established Warrior Transition Units, which help wounded service members facing surgeries, lengthy recovery periods, and rehabilitation.

Parade-goers salute the color guard during a Veterans Day tribute in Indianapolis, November 11, 2009.

During fiscal year 2008 the Red Cross handled over 630,000 emergency communications services for military families worldwide. It provided over $5.8 million in financial assistance to more than 5,000 uniformed service members, their families and veterans in partnership with the Military Aid Societies.

Here’s Where You Come In …

All of this work is supported by volunteers and donated funds. Your contribution to the American Red Cross offers priceless peace-of-mind to the men and women facing the hardest challenge of national service.

Show your support by donating to the American Red Cross at 1-800-RED-CROSS.

For more information, go to redcross.org.

Help Our Soldiers Overseas The Saturday Evening Post