National Board of the Young Men's Christian Associations. Armed Services Dept.

The United States entered World War I on 6 April 1917. On that same day, John Mott, General Secretary of the International Committee of North American YMCAs, informed President Wilson that the YMCA would help provide services for the military forces. Less than a week later, the International Committee appointed the National War Work Council to coordinate this work. William S. Sloane, a New York furniture merchant and for sixteen years chairman of the YMCA's Army and Navy Committee, was designated as the new organization's chairman, and Mott as its chief executive officer. A specific military function was assigned to the YMCA. Its duty was to assist in maintaining and promoting morale and welfare. It had been proved in the Spanish American War and on the Mexican border that YMCA service made better fighters.

The YMCA conducted its war work with soldiers in training camps and troop trains in the United States as well as in Europe, providing recreation, library services, bible study, and religious services. In France the YMCA agreed to run the Post Exchange for the army, and thus sold candy, cigarettes, and other personal items to the soldiers. War work went under several names, including Red Triangle work and AEF work (AEF stood for American Expeditionary Forces, which referred to the American army in France). The National War Work Council also financed similar work for French soldiers under the name "Foyer du Soldat." Additional work was carried out in Italy, Greece, Russia, and a number of other countries. The YMCA also provided services to prisoners of war in a number of countries.

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