I have read that more Southerners volunteered to fight in WWII but what about in WWI? Where did most American volunteers fighting in WWI come from? Did their political affiliation have anything to do with it? I couldn’t find any demographic statistics on WWI volunteers online.
Sorry, I meant to edit my post. It should have read:
“From which part of the US did most American volunteers fighting in WWI come from?”
I only had one relative who volunteered for WW1. He had an engineering background from Minneapolis and was in the US expedionary force. Most of the WW1 volunteers I’ve heard of were ambulance drivers like Walt Disney or pilots with the Lafayette Esquadrille.
Sorry, no cite, but I thought I read somewhere that the South has always had more volunteers in the military than any other region of the U.S. through WWI, WWII, Korea, and Vietnam.
Some of that probably has to do with the South being more economically depressed than other regions. The military has a lot more of an appeal to the poor. If you are having a hard time finding a job, the military is always hiring. You won’t get laid off (you can’t quit), and while the pay isn’t great, free housing eliminates your biggest expense. Some critics refer to this as the “poverty draft”.
Southern culture also tends to be more patriotic than other regions, which probably also factors into it.
That’s just speculation though. I don’t have statistics for either reason.
Thanks engineer_comp-geek. You make a good case for why the majority of volunteers would come from the South in WWI, WWII, Korea, and Vietnam… It would be nice to find an actual study on that.
Thanks for for that info Eric1. I didn’t know Walt Disney was an ambulance driver in WWI.
This doesn’t help with WWI, but it does address some of the myths about who joins. A couple of interesting quotes:
Myth: The military is not geographically representative of America.
Fact: Military recruits are closely proportionate to the general population.
The southern region of the U.S. generates the most recruits but also has the greatest density of youth population. The South produces 41% of all recruits (compared to 36% of the 18- to 24-year-old population). The Northeast generates 14% of new recruits (18% of the 18-24 population). The West and North Central regions produce 21% and 24% of new recruits (accounting for 24% and 23%, respectively, of the 18-24 population).
Myth: The military attracts disproportionately from poor or underprivileged youth.
Fact: Military recruits mirror the U.S. population and are solidly middle class.
A recent report shows that more recruits come from middle-income families, with far fewer drawn from poorer families. Youth from upper-income families are represented at almost exactly their fair share.
I’d argue that the South is statistically different from the others, but it’s closer than I would have guessed when you normalize for youth population.
List of US Army formations in WWI
Many of the infantry divisions were activated National Guard units combined from adjoining states. Southerners were in the 30th, 31st, and the 42nd Rainbow Division. As a draftee, Alvin York of Tennessee was placed in the 82nd. Bobby Jones of Atlanta played golf with officers stateside in WWI, but served overseas in WWII.
Our Sampiro once told us how his Alabamian ancestor went to France and returned not shell-shocked but elsewise shocked at what a mademoiselle had done to him using her mouth.
Moderator Note
Let’s keep the Penthouse Forums stuff out of otherwise good posts, please.