The first of a group of 250 Officers and Soldiers of The Salvation Army to be posted to France to serve with General John Pershing's American expeditionary force sailed from New York on August 12th 1917. General Pershing was far from convinced that The Salvation Army's presence at the Front Line would benefit his troops and at first the Salvationists were treated with total indifference. At Demange, in the American first division sector, Salvationists toiled in pouring rain to build a hut 25 feet wide by 100 feet long for the troops benefit. No one gave them the time of day, much less a hand

What swung the troops to The Army's side was their practical example. No task was to menial, none to dangerous or difficult. But The Salvation Army won pride of place in American hearts by a brain wave born of sheer necessity. At Montiers, after 36 days of rain, supplies were almost exhausted. Only flour, lard and sugar remained. Ensign Margaret Sheldon, from the Chicago slums made a suggestion which was to go down in history. "Why don't we make them doughnuts?" They had no rolling pins or cake cutters and gales had blown down their tent but Salvationists thrive on challenges. Along with Ensign Helen Purviance, Margaret Sheldon crouched in the rain to prepare the dough. An empty bottle did duty as a rolling pin and in place of a cutter they used a knife to twist the doughnuts into shape. The first doughnuts cooked over a wood fire were triumph of improvisation. On the first day they served up some 150 doughnuts. The following days batch topped 300. The traditional hole now being punched out with the inner tube of a coffee percolator. The doughnuts made by The Salvation Army Lassies were an instant success with the troops. Some queuing for hours in appalling conditions for their daily supply.

Soon the troops came to realise that even in the firing line The Salvationists would not neglect them. When Lassies like Ensign Florence Turkington crawled under shell fire to deliver coffee an doughnuts to troops in the trenches, letters praising the work of The Salvation Army began flooding back home. Over night the bewildered lassies found themselves national heroines. Although often in great danger The Salvationists displayed tremendous courage. At Baccarat they worked so close to the German lines that they couldn't even whisper for fear of being heard by the listening posts. The sermon that came with the coffee and doughnuts was a friendly squeeze on the shoulder.
The Doughnut became a symbol of The Salvation Army in the U.S.A. Outside many of The Army rest rooms and hostels were hung giant "doughnuts". The Army, by selfless example, had won the hearts of a nation. At the end of the war the American people subscribed an unprecedented 13 million dollars to meet the debts incurred by The Salvation Army in its' war work. 

The above postcards were published by The Salvation Army in the U.S.A. and are believed to be from a set of 11. The reverse of the cards is printed with the Salvation Army Shield and the message "Send contributions for Salvation Army Home Service Fund to nearest Salvation Army Headquarters"

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