Doughboy is an informal term for an American soldier, especially members of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) in World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. The term dates back to the Mexican–American War

Mexican–American War

The Mexican–American War, also known as the First American Intervention, the Mexican War, or the U.S.–Mexican War, was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848 in the wake of the 1845 U.S...

 of 1846–48.

The term was used sparingly during World War II, gradually replaced by the appellations "G.I.

GI (term)

G.I. is a noun used to describe members of the United States armed forces or items of their equipment. The term is now used as an initialism of "Government Issue" , but originally referred to galvanized iron....

", "Troop

Troop

A troop is a military unit, originally a small force of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron and headed by the troop leader. In many armies a troop is the equivalent unit to the infantry section or platoon...

", or "Dogface

Dogface (military)

Dogface refers to a U.S. Army foot soldier serving in the infantry, especially in World War II.-History and usage:The origin of the term is difficult to ascertain. According to the recollections of veteran Phillip Leveque:...

", but was still used in popular songs of the day, as in the 1942 song "Johnny Doughboy found a Rose in Ireland." It dropped out of popular use soon after World War II.

Etymology

The term was in use in the 1840s. The origins are unclear. The most often cited explanation is that it arose during the Mexican–American War

Mexican–American War

The Mexican–American War, also known as the First American Intervention, the Mexican War, or the U.S.–Mexican War, was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848 in the wake of the 1845 U.S...

, after observers noticed U.S. infantry forces were constantly covered with chalky dust from marching through the dry terrain of northern Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

, giving the men the appearance of unbaked dough

Dough

Dough is a paste made out of any cereals or leguminous crops by mixing flour with a small amount of water and/or other liquid. This process is a precursor to making a wide variety of foodstuffs, particularly breads and bread-based items , flatbreads, noodles, pastry, and similar items)...

. Another suggestion is that doughboys were so named because of their method of cooking field rations of the 1840s and 1850s, usually doughy flour and rice concoctions baked in the ashes of a camp fire, although this does not explain why only infantryman received the appellation.

Still another explanation involves pipe clay

Catlinite

Catlinite is a type of argillite , usually brownish-red in color, which occurs in a matrix of Sioux quartzite. Because it is fine-grained and easily worked, it is prized by Native Americans for use in making sacred pipes such as calumets and chanunpas...

, a substance with the appearance of dough used by pre-Civil War soldiers to clean their white garrison belts. The uniforms that were worn by American soldiers in the World War I era had very large buttons. The soldiers from allied nations suggested that the Americans were dressed like "Gingerbread Men" and then began to refer to the Americans as The Doughboys.

Further reading

• Faulstich, Edith. M.
  Edith Margaret Faulstich
  Edith Margaret Faulstich of New Jersey and New York City, was a philatelist and philatelic journalist who specialized in postal history and postal covers...
  
   "The Siberian Sojourn" Yonkers, N.Y. (1972-1977)
• Gawne, Jonathan. Over There!: The American Soldier in World War I (1999)- 83 pages, heavily illustrated
• Grotelueschen, Mark Ethan. The AEF Way of War: The American Army and Combat in World War I (2006) excerpt and text search
• Hallas, James H. Doughboy War: The American Expeditionary Force in World War I (2nd ed. 2009) online edition; includes many primary sources from soldiers
• Hoff, Thomas. US Doughboy 1916-19‎ (2005)
• Kennedy, David M. Over Here: The First World War and American Society (1980) excerpt and text search
• Schafer, Ronald. America in the Great War (1991)
• Skilman, Willis Rowland. The A.E.F.: Who They Were, what They Did, how They Did it (1920) 231 pp; full text online
• Smith, Gene
  Gene Smith
  Gene Smith may refer to:* Gene Smith , current general manager for the Jacksonville Jaguars* Gene Smith , current athletic director at the Ohio State University...
  
  . Until the Last Trumpet Sounds: The Life of General of the Armies John J. Pershing (1999), popular biography.
• Snell, Mark A. Unknown Soldiers: The American Expeditionary Forces in Memory and Remembrance (2008)
• Thomas, Shipley. The History of the A. E. F. (1920), 540pp; full text online
• Votow, John. The American Expeditionary Forces in World War I (2005) - 96 pp; excerpt and text search
• Werner, Bret. Uniforms, Equipment And Weapons of the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I (2006)

See also

• American Expeditionary Forces  - the formal name
• Dogface (military)
  Dogface (military)
  Dogface refers to a U.S. Army foot soldier serving in the infantry, especially in World War II.-History and usage:The origin of the term is difficult to ascertain. According to the recollections of veteran Phillip Leveque:...
  
  
• Frank Buckles
  Frank Buckles
  Frank Woodruff Buckles was the last surviving American veteran of World War I. He enlisted in the United States Army in 1917 and served with a detachment from Fort Riley, driving ambulances and motorcycles near the front lines in Europe.During World War II, he was captured by Japanese forces...
  
   - last Doughboy from World War I until his death in 2011.
• Poilu
  Poilu
  Poilu is a warmly informal term for a French World War I infantryman, meaning, literally, hairy one. The term came into popular usage in France during the era of Napoleon Bonaparte and his massive citizen armies, though the term grognard was also common. It is still widely used as a term of...
  
   - equivalent term for French soldiers of World War I
• Tommy Atkins
  Tommy Atkins
  Tommy Atkins is a term for a common soldier in the British Army that was already well established in the 19th century, but is particularly associated with World War I. It can be used as a term of reference, or as a form of address. German soldiers would call out to "Tommy" across no man's land if...
  
  - equivalent term for British soldiers of World War I

External links

• Doughboy Center stories from the AEF
• http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110228/ap_on_re_us/us_obit_last_wwi_veteran Last "Doughboy" dies at 110