Rare photos document first Americans on front lines in World War I (Photos)

By Jack Moore

April 10, 2017 2:20 pm

WASHINGTON — Last week marked 100 years since the U.S. declared war on Germany, officially entering the first world war.

But years before the first American “doughboys” landed on the shores of Europe, hundreds of Americans had aided the Allies by signing up to serve in the American Field Service, the famous ambulance corps that operated at the war’s French western front.

A rare collection of photographs documents the experience of one such American ambulance driver from his arrival in France to the arrival of U.S. troops and the end of the war.

The photo scrapbook first found its way into the hands of Brig. Gen. Albert Greenlaw, who served in France with the Maine National Guard. The collection eventually ended up at the Maine Military Historical Society in Augusta, Maine, First Lt. Jonathan Bratten told WTOP in an email.

View the full story with photos here.