union 10-4-39 39304 A AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCES OFFICE OF THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF My dear Mr. Beamish: France, May 9, 1919 Your letter of recent date requesting that I write a foreword for your book "America's Part in the World War" has been carefully noted, and I shall be glad to accede to your request. It is important that every American should be informed of the part played by our country in the great war. A work of this kind, based on official records and actual experiences at the front, is well fitted to present a true picture of the immensity of American effort. Never has the United States so fully demonstrated its ability to organize and act than in the last eighteen months of the world conflict. Never have we fought for a nobler cause nor for one involving more fundamental principles of justice. Our military achievements are worthy of the best traditions of the nation as our army has played a vital and decisive part in the final defeat of the most formidable military machine that ever menaced mankind. From no sense of personal pride, but with a profound admiration for the heroic armies it has been my honor and privilege to lead, I heartily endorse a work that will bring home to every American the full greatness of American accomplishment. Showing his equipment when prepared to go over the top, consisting of rifle, bayonet, web cartridge belt and suspenders, gas respirator, |