Women Who Served Overseas in Non-Military Organizations

American women served at the front lines in World War One with organizations like the Salvation Army, a private Christian mission organization rather than a military unit, and the Red Cross.

Margaret Sheldon and Helen Purviance decided to make donuts to remind American service men of home. Two hundred fifty volunteers journeyed to the front line in Europe. These volunteers cooked doughnuts, cupcakes, pies, pancakes and cocoa and served them to US soldiers. These women played an important role risking their lives to feed and helped the men be reminded of home during these troubling times. In June of 1917, many women were playing their part either by opening hostess houses or traveling to France to work on the front line with the men. The women in the combat zone were so helpful and offered a nice break from the cruelty of the war that they impacted the lives of the soldiers by just being there.

 

Contributors:  Wakiya Nalley, Jacobi Brown, Becca Balogh, and Maddie Watkins.

Learn more about this whole suffrage centennial project, created by teams in Dr. Kim Little’s HIST2302:  America in the Modern Era First-Year Seminars.