These little shepherd girls dwelt in a portion of France that was used for a Leave Area. In the beginning both white and colored soldiers found rest and pleasure in visiting the historic and picturesque region about Challes-les-Eaux and Chambery, but later it was set aside by the Y. M. C. A. for colored soldiers only. Naturally the inhabitants were much amazed to find that they were not being molested in any way, and toward the close of the work the different impressions that were being gathered by the French people became almost a constant topic of conversation. The teachers and proprietors of the hotels came often to converse, and some of them helped gratuitously in the performance of our duties. Many of the children came to play upon the lawn of the Y. M. C. A. at Challes-les-Eaux, where the writer had charge of the woman’s work for a period, and the mayor came as the official representative of the town, to assure us of all good wishes and sympathetic greetings; while the mayor at Chambery gave out a public invitation for the colored people to return to France and become a part of their civilization.
Often the staff of secretaries at Challes-les-Eaux would be invited to dinner, especially at the hotel Chateaubriand, where the hostess and her daughter, dressed and smiling, amidst a bower of flowers, opened their hearts again and again concerning their entire satisfaction with the conduct of our soldiers, and how different they were from their original representation. They had received instructions before their coming as to just the manner in which they should be treated, but they not only found no cause for such instructions, but found many characteristics in the colored men which were a pleasure and a delight.
During the victory parade in Paris, no colored Americans were permitted to participate, notwithstanding the fact that numerous individuals as well as organizations had been cited or decorated for bravery. This the French people were not able to understand, but in due time they learned that it was all due to the American policy of discrimination. They gradually discovered that the colored American was not the wild, vicious character that he had been represented to be, but that he was kind-hearted, genteel and polite. One could frequently hear the expression, “soldat noir, tres gentil, tres poli” (black soldier very genteel, very polite); this characteristic appealed greatly to these people who have always been noted for their innate politeness.
The French women were especially kind and hospitable to their dark-skinned allies. The writers had the pleasure of living in one French home for nearly nine months. Here they were treated with all courtesy, respect, and almost reverence. One of them became ill, and was sick unto death for nearly five weeks, during which time the hostess called in her own family physician, administered the medicine, and nursed her as if she had been her own child.
Friendly Intercourse with the French
1. Group of Colored Officers visiting French family. 2. Mayor, hotel proprietors and teachers at Challes les Eaux fraternizing with Colored Soldiers and Y. M. C. A. Secretaries. 3. Group of French Students taken with Colored Soldiers resting while on a hike.
When the French women learned that the Americans were trying to control the social intercourse of their homes, they deeply resented it. At one time the 92nd Division had issued the following orders:
HEADQUARTERS, 92nd DIVISION,
A. E. F.