Veteran's Day - Our Immigrant Family in "THE GREAT WAR"

Major hostilities of World War I (THE GREAT WAR) were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 when the Armistice with Germany went into effect. At the urging of major U.S. veteran organizations,^[ Armistice Day was renamed Veterans Day in 1954.

On this Veteran's Day, November 11, 2025 it is worth noting...

"Foreign-born soldiers composed over 18 percent of the U.S. Army during World War I."
Among them were my great uncles, Richard Peterson and Andrew Soderstrom.

The Immigrant Army: Immigrant Service Members in World War I

"As the American military mobilized to enter World War I in 1917, its ranks filled with a cross-section of American society, including immigrants from around the world. The nation entered the war during a period of peak immigration; between 1901 and 1920, almost 14.5 million immigrants arrived in the U.S. Some Americans welcomed the new immigrants, while others called for increased restrictions on immigration. These sentiments impacted the immigrants who took up arms for the U.S. during World War I.

Foreign-born soldiers composed over 18 percent of the U.S. Army during World War I. Almost one in five draftees was born overseas. Many immigrants also volunteered to serve in the military, often to prove their loyalty to the U.S. and demonstrate their patriotism for their new country. 

Upon entering the armed forces, many immigrant service members could not speak English and knew very little about the U.S. military and government. To address this, the War Department offered a variety of English-language classes to immigrants in wartime training camps. Drawing from the early twentieth-century Americanization Movement that promoted the Assimilation of new immigrants into American culture and society, these classes often included lessons on civics and citizenship to help “Americanize” the men and prepare them both for the battlefield and for life as engaged American citizens after the war.

To further assimilate alien soldiers, Congress passed legislation allowing for the expedited naturalization of foreign-born members of the military. This opportunity allowed more than 300,000 immigrant soldiers to eventually become citizens of the nation they swore to defend.

Immigrants served in U.S. military during World War I in a variety of ways both at home and abroad. Many service members embraced their heritage while they devoted themselves to the defense of the U.S.

Many immigrants viewed their World War I service as a transformational event in their lives and a key part of their identity as new Americans. While many immigrants returned to the U.S. and became citizens after the war, others lost their lives in service of their adopted nation, often before obtaining their American citizenship."

This article comes from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 

You can read it in it's entirety → HERE