Handing out doughnuts. Photos provided.
By Capt. Paul Ryerson
Commander, Gwinnett Salvation Army
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. | When you hear that it is National Doughnut Day, you may think it’s just another marketing ploy to get you to stop at your local doughnut shop. However, you might be surprised to learn that National Doughnut Day is one of the few national food days that has history behind it.
Two essentials: A doughnut and coffee.
In 1917, The Salvation Army embarked on a mission to provide spiritual and emotional support for U.S. soldiers fighting in France during World War I in the American Expeditionary Force. At the personal request of General John J. Pershing, about 250 Salvation Army women volunteers traveled overseas to serve the needs of the troops on the front lines.
Ryerson
When these women volunteers arrived, the military brass in charge were skeptical of having them on the front lines because, well…they were women. The leaders felt it was their responsibility to protect the women, and because the war was already hard enough, they didn’t want to bear that responsibility.
This, however, did not stop the Salvation Army “lassies,” as they would become known. They insisted and told those in charge, “The boys are on the front lines, and we must be with them!”
To solve this problem, the U.S. government brought every Salvation Army lassie into the U.S. Army, issued them a firearm, and told them they were responsible for their own safety. Without even realizing it, this move made them the first women to be in the U.S. Armed Forces. All 250 survived the war.
However, that is not what they will be remembered for. Instead, it was a small request that came from a young soldier on the front lines that would solidify these young women into the history books. After 36 straight days of steady rain, one of the lassies saw a young soldier depressed and missing his home. To cheer him up, she decided to bake up a small treat. The only rations she had were: flour, sugar, lard, baking powder, cinnamon, and canned milk. She asked for the soldier to hand her his helmet. She turned it upside down, poured oil into it, warmed it up, and dumped the ingredients into the helmet.
Lining up for snacks.
What came out would change the morale of the American troops for the rest of the war. She handed the young soldier—a doughnut. Thus the Salvation Army “doughnut lassies” was started. They made an estimated 9,000 doughnuts daily and distributed them among the troops, along with hot coffee.
Every time the front line moved; the lassies moved with the troops. In addition to baked goods, the lassies would sew and patch the soldier’s uniforms when needed, take down and write letters back home (and pay for the postage), and even serve coffee and doughnuts in the muddy and cold trenches during actual combat.
Serving in the trenches.
It is estimated that The Salvation Army served close to one million doughnuts during World War I. The troops ate so many doughnuts that they returned home with the nickname, “doughboys.” Food historians credit The Salvation Army for popularizing the doughnut in the United States.
In 1938, the very first National Doughnut Day was established to honor and remember the work done by the doughnut Lassies. Today, it is marked on the first Friday of June every year. When you eat your next doughnut, take a moment to remember the fearless lassies of the Salvation Army, who served our country then, and continue to serve our country today. Now…go grab a doughnut, and remember the lassies!
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