Salvation Army was over there 100 years ago

A century ago, April 6, 1917, the United States joined its allies to fight in World War I.  Over 4 million U.S. military personnel were mobilized in the Allied effort to fight the Central Powers. The Salvation Army was there too.

During the First World War, the Salvation Army provided all manner of services.  Besides serving as chaplains, they operated motor ambulances; managed refreshment huts in military camps, where they provided food and clothing for combatants; and ran an inquiry service helping relatives and friends to find servicemen.

The skills of the Salvation Army personnel sent to support the soldiers and sailors were honed by their day-to-day service back home. The Salvation Army spirit of sacrifice ran straight from the homeless shelters in New York, Chicago and San Francisco to the temporary and mud-caked huts in war-torn Europe.

The first Salvation Army party landed in France on Aug. 22, 1917. They built their first hut two weeks later. All of the Salvation Army officers played instruments and put on regular concerts for the troops. They operated a canteen. They sewed clothing and operated a money-transfer system for the soldiers to send their pay back home to their families. They held Bible classes and offered the building for religious services to any soldiers who needed them regardless of denomination or faith.

Salvation Army huts like this would be built all over the Western Theater, hundreds of them, all offering services to support the bodies and souls of the military men putting their lives on the line. They set up these huts to be as comforting and warm as possible, offering some semblance of normalcy, sometimes right at the front lines and almost inside the trenches the soldiers were fighting in.

The Salvation Army war work did not end with the armistice. Hospital visitation and nursing aid continued after the war, as did other services for the troops in France and later in occupied Germany. The Salvationists were frequently given a commission to get a watch repaired or to buy a Christmas or birthday gift for some loved one. They furnished paper and pens and urged soldiers to write home. They helped the troops returning home by sending telegrams announcing their expected return date and time, and even helping families reunite at busy docks.

The work of the Salvation Army in World War I yielded a unique and lasting cultural contribution to American culture: the doughnut. The refreshment huts operated by the Salvationists served all manner of food and drink, but troop morale was low, depression was rampant and the decision was made to offer some authentic home cooking. However, supplies were low and there was little ability to procure fresh ingredients in the middle of the greatest war the world had seen.

With only flour, sugar, lard, baking powder, cinnamon and canned milk on hand, they decided to make doughnuts. Soon they were making 9,000 doughnuts a day and the soldiers quickly began referring to the female Salvation Army personnel who served them as "doughnut girls."

The doughnut became a symbol of everything the Salvation Army was doing to serve the soldiers in war – canteens in muddy fields offering hot drinks, spiritual services, music, money transfers back home, sewing uniforms and home-cooked treats.

Some regions of the country had been eating fried circles of sugary dough for years but thousands of veterans brought their fond memories of Salvation Army doughnuts back home with them and kept asking their local bakeries to make them. In short order, the doughnut could be seen all over America, enjoyed by everyone with a sweet tooth and not just the men from the trenches.

Today, the Salvation Army Alaska Division is still in the trenches, battling addiction, homelessness, hunger and hopelessness. Our McKinnell House Family Shelter is the only temporary emergency shelter in Alaska that serves single fathers as well as intact families. The Clitheroe Center offers comprehensive addiction and substance abuse recovery services. Serendipity Adult Day Services provides adults with special needs the dignity and hope they and their families need. The Older Alaskans Program delivers fresh, nutritious meals to homebound Anchorage seniors through our Meals on Wheels service. These are some of the services that donations to the Salvation Army go toward funding in your community.

If you have a sweet tooth, we still celebrate our heritage every year on the first Friday in June, National Donut Day, which this year is on June 2. And if you're ever in Hoonah, make sure to visit Lil Gen's, a doughnut shop operated by the local Salvation Army Corps.

Today we remember our brothers and sisters who served in World War I. It is with gratitude that we salute them and continue to serve.

God bless.

Maj. Mike Dickinson is commander for the Salvation Army Alaska Division. The Salvation Army has been in Alaska since 1898 and has a presence in 18 communities around the state. More information about the Salvation Army in Alaska can be found at their website: http://alaska.salvationarmy.org/.

The views expressed here are the writer's and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary@alaskadispatch.com. Send submissions shorter than 200 words to letters@alaskadispatch.com.