Doughboy was a popular

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

for the American

infantryman Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marin ...

during World War I. Though the origins of the term are not certain, the nickname was still in use as of the early 1940s. Examples include the 1942 song "Johnny Doughboy Found a Rose in Ireland", recorded by

Dennis Day Dennis Day (born Owen Patrick Eugene McNulty; May 21, 1916 – June 22, 1988) was an American actor, comedian, and singer. He was of Irish descent. Early life Day was born and raised in the Throggs Neck section of the Bronx, New York City, the ...

, Kenny Baker, and

Kay Kyser James Kern Kyser (June 18, 1905 – July 23, 1985), known as Kay Kyser, was an American bandleader and radio personality of the 1930s and 1940s. Early years James Kern Kyser was born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, the son of pharmacists Emily ...

, among others, the 1942 musical film '' Johnny Doughboy'', and the character "Johnny Doughboy" in ''Military Comics''. It was gradually replaced during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

by "

G.I. G.I. are initials used to describe the soldiers of the United States Army and airmen of the United States Air Force and general items of their equipment. The term G.I. has been used as an initialism of "Government Issue", "General Issue", or " ...

Etymology

The origins of the term are unclear. The word was in wide circulation a century earlier in both Britain and America, albeit with different meanings. Horatio Nelson's sailors and the

Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish people, Anglo-Irish soldier and Tories (British political party), Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of Uni ...

's soldiers in Spain, for instance, were both familiar with fried flour dumplings called "doughboys",Evans, Ivor H. (ed.) (1981) ''

Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable ''Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable'', sometimes referred to simply as ''Brewer's'', is a reference work containing definitions and explanations of many famous phrases, allusions, and figures, whether historical or mythical. The "New E ...

'' New York: Harper & Row, p.353 the precursor of the modern doughnut. Independently, in the United States, the term had come to be applied to bakers' young apprentices, i.e., "dough-boys". In ''

Moby-Dick ''Moby-Dick; or, The Whale'' is an 1851 novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is the sailor Ishmael's narrative of the obsessive quest of Ahab, captain of the whaling ship ''Pequod'', for revenge against Moby Dick, the giant whi ...

'' (1851),

Herman Melville Herman Melville ( born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works are ''Moby-Dick'' (1851); ''Typee'' (1846), a rom ...

nicknamed the timorous cabin steward "Doughboy".

History

Doughboy as applied to the infantry of the U.S. Army first appears in accounts of the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

of 1846–1848,Beale, Paul (ed.) (1989) ''A Concise History of Slang and Unconventional English: From "A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English" by

Eric Partridge Eric Honeywood Partridge (6 February 1894 – 1 June 1979) was a New Zealand– British lexicographer of the English language, particularly of its slang. His writing career was interrupted only by his service in the Army Education Corps an ...

'' New York: Macmillan. p.134. without any precedent that can be documented. A number of theories have been put forward to explain this usage: * Cavalrymen used the term to deride foot soldiers, because the brass buttons on their uniforms looked like the flour dumplings or dough cakes called "doughboys", or because of the flour or pipe clay which the soldiers used to polish their white belts.Taylor, David A. (March 1998
"The History of the Doughnut"
''

Smithsonian Magazine ''Smithsonian'' is the official journal published by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. The first issue was published in 1970. History The history of ''Smithsonian'' began when Edward K. Thompson, the retired editor of ''Life'' mag ...

'' * Observers noticed U.S. infantry forces were constantly covered with chalky dust from marching through the dry terrain of northern

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, giving the men the appearance of unbaked

dough Dough is a thick, malleable, sometimes elastic paste made from grains or from leguminous or chestnut crops. Dough is typically made by mixing flour with a small amount of water or other liquid and sometimes includes yeast or other leavenin ...

or the mud bricks of the area known as adobe, with "adobe" transformed to 'dobies' and then further into "doughboy".Hanlon, Michael E
"Origins of 'Doughboy'"
''Doughboy Center: Stories of the American Expeditionary Force'' * The soldiers' method of cooking

field ration A field ration (combat ration, ration pack, or food packet) is a type of prepackaged or canned military ration. Field rations are distinguished from garrison rations by virtue of being designed for minimal preparation in the field, as well ...

s of the 1840s and 1850s into doughy flour-and-rice concoctions baked in the ashes of a camp fire. This does not explain why only infantrymen received the appellation. One explanation offered for the usage of the term in World War I is that female Salvation Army volunteers went to France to cook millions of doughnuts and bring them to the troops on the front line, although this explanation ignores the usage of the term in the earlier war. One joke explanation for the term's origin was that, in World War I, the doughboys were "kneaded" in 1914 but did not rise until 1917.

Average age

In World War I the doughboys were very young, often teenaged boys. The average age of a doughboy in World War I was less than 25 years old. Fifty-seven percent of the doughboys were under the age of 25. Seventeen-year-old boys also enlisted to fight in World War I.

Monuments and memorials

A popular mass-produced sculpture of the 1920s called the '' Spirit of the American Doughboy'' shows a U.S. soldier in World War I uniform.

References

* Faulstich, Edith. M. "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
* Gutièrrez, Edward A. ''Doughboys on the Great War: How American Soldiers Viewed Their Military Experience'' (2014) * 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
* Nelson, James Carl. ''The Remains of Company D: A Story of the Great War'' (2009) * Ranck,

dwin Dvin ( hy, Դուին, label= Classical Armenian, hy, Դվին, label= reformed; el, Δούβιος, or , ; ; also Duin or Dwin in ancient sources) was a large commercial city and the capital of early medieval Armenia. It was situated north o ...

Carty. ''The Doughboys' Book'' (1925) * Rubin, Richard ''The Last of the Doughboys: the forgotten generation and their forgotten world war'' plus
online webcast presentation of book
* 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. ''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) * Zieger, Robert. ''America's Great War: World War 1 and the American Experience'' (2000)

External links

*
The Doughboy Center: The Story of the American Expeditionary Forces
at Worldwar1.com {{Authority control Infantry Military slang and jargon