The army behind the armyPowell, E. Alexander (Edward Alexander)
History
The army behind the army
Powell, E. Alexander (Edward Alexander)
United States. Army; World War, 1914-1918 -- United States
One of the commonest problems was the one presented by the officer of
German extraction who had been born and bred amid Teutonic influences,
and who was naturally pro-German in sympathy and utterances before
the United States entered the war, but who had been guilty of no
act or utterance since that date which could be construed as in any
degree disloyal, and who, from a military point of view, was extremely
efficient. Such cases, in the last analysis, always resolved themselves
into the question: “Is he fit to go across?” Each case was, of course,
considered on its own merits. While it was obviously impossible to lay
down a rule-of-thumb applicable to all, two considerations in the main
governed the decision. In the first place, an effort was made to obtain
the opinions of the officers serving with the man in question and to
learn whether they would be satisfied to go into action against German
troops with him. If his fellow officers felt that they could trust him
under such circumstances, it was a fair judgment in his favor. The second
consideration was to ascertain whether his name, lineage, or appearance
would make him unacceptable to our French allies. If such were likely to
be the case, international courtesy, if nothing else, made it inadvisable
to send him overseas. Surveillance of these men naturally was continued
in France, but the Intelligence Division of the A. E. F., in reporting
that such a case could be considered closed, frequently said in effect
that any taint of disloyalty which might once have existed had been
burned away by the fire of battle.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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