The salute of General Black Jack Pershing, Commander in Chief of the American Expeditionary Force, landing in France, June, 1917. Pershing landed in Boulogne on June 13.
Le Salut du Général Pershing, Commandant en Chef des Troupes Américanines, à la terre de France. (Juin 1917).Message dated September 18, 1917R et E[nvoyée?] le 20-9-1917Reverse:Postmarked September 18, 1917
"It is evident that a force of about 1,000,000 is the smallest unit which in modern war will be a complete well-balanced and independent fighting organization. However, it must be equally clear that the adoption of this size force as a basis of study should not be construed as the maximum force which will be needed in France. It is taken as the force which may be expected to reach France in time for an offensive in 1918, and as a unit and basis for organization. Plans for the future should be based, especially in reference to the manufacture etc. of artillery, aviation, and other material, on three times this force—i.e. at least 3,000,000 men."
Preliminary statement by United States commander General John Pershing to the 'General Organization Project' prepared by his staff and War Department board to define the structure of the United States Army for the war effort. In his April 2, 1917 address to Congress asking it to declare war on Germany, President Woodrow Wilson had stated his opinion that American males should be universally liable to service, and that 500,000 men should be immediately added to the military with 'subsequent additional increments of equal force' depending on need and the resources to train the men. The United States armies would be twice as large as the European ones, but would play little part in the fighting of 1917.
Mr. Wilson's War by John Dos Passos, page 254, copyright © 1962, 2013 by John Dos Passos, publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
1917-07-11, 1917, July, Pershing, Black Jack Pershing's salute, General John Pershing, John Pershing
