Pershing's men step off the transports onto French soil; the Doughboys have arrived

For nearly three years, the bloodiest war in human history had ground through Europe without American boots on the ground. That changed in June 1917, when the first wave of General John J. Pershing's American Expeditionary Forces stepped off transport ships onto French soil — the "Doughboys," as the press quickly dubbed them. Their presence was symbolic before it was military; the U.S. Army had to be built almost from scratch under the Selective Service Act, which drafted 2.8 million men because voluntary enlistment fell far short. By May 1918, over one million Americans were stationed in France, and by July 4, 1918, they were in the fight at the Battle of Hamel…