With the Colors: Songs of the American Service

In Short

This volume is a collection of poems composed during the entry of the United States into the First World War. It serves as both a manual for civilian morale and a tribute to the men and women navigating the sacrifices of a global conflict. Through simple, rhythmic stanzas and colloquial storytelling, the text examines the domestic impact of the draft, the necessity of the "soldiers of the soil," and the quiet heroism of those left behind. It remains a poignant record of a time when national unity was felt as a personal, spiritual obligation.

The Story

The narrative arc of the book begins with the transformation of the individual into a representative of the collective national spirit. At the outset, the focus is on the flag as a living symbol, moving beyond mere bunting to embody the moral character of the citizens who follow it. The prose and poetry quickly pivot to the immediate reality of war: the training camps where "dough-boys" and "rookies" wait with impatient fervor, the "skeeter fleets" of patrol boats guarding the harbors, and the kitchen-bound soldiers like Cookie Jim, who must learn that true service is found in doing one’s assigned job, no matter how humble.

As the story progresses, the focus shifts to the home front. We meet the "Little Mother," whose heart is squeezed by the icy hand of fear, and the "Busy Lady," who learns that true patriotism requires more than managing others' labor—it requires self-discipline. A striking, darker thread emerges in the tale of the "Alien," where a woman’s loyalty to her country is tested by her marriage to an arrogant, anti-American Prussian. Her eventual, chilling decision to protect her child from her husband's corrupt influence serves as a stark parable of the era’s fierce, protective nationalism.

The mid-section of the work explores the diverse roles within the American service. We see the "Penguin" pilots training on ground-bound, bumbling aircraft and the ambulance drivers like Briggs, who earn medals for bravery in No Man's Land while insisting they are merely "bluffs." There is an emphasis on the "exempted" youth—the young men who possess the spirit of a hero but lack the physical stature to serve—reminding the reader of the profound bitterness felt by those left on the sidelines while their peers march away.

The book’s emotional arc reaches its zenith in the farewells of "Good-bye, Boys!" and the quiet reflection on the "Soul of Sergeant Todd," whose ghost grapples with the fear he felt while fighting. These poems navigate the tension between the public face of the hero and the private, terrified human being.

In the final movement, the tone softens into "Other Keys," shifting from the battlefield to the domestic hearth. Here, the struggle is not against an enemy, but against the passage of time. The loss of a child, the humor of a young girl’s portrait, and the simple joy of a dog’s confession ground the war’s grand themes in human fragility. The collection concludes with a meditation on death—not as a tragedy, but as an "unrepeated call" that one meets with a turned-down glass and a steady heart. The journey ends where it began: with an insistence that if one has lived with courage, the final transition is merely a part of the day’s work.

How It Unfolds

The call to arms The book opens with an insistence that the flag is a living soul, not a decoration. It calls upon the reader to reject "sobbing" displays of patriotism in favor of the clean, quiet work of the soldier.

The training camp grind The narrative moves to the monotony of preparation, where men wait in mud and frustration for their chance to fight. It introduces the diverse ranks, from the "hicks" turned soldiers of the soil to the cooks who keep the machine running.

The home front tension The focus shifts to the mothers, the knitting circles, and the families left behind. It details the sharp divide between those who can go and those who are medically exempted, highlighting the pain of wanting to serve without the means to do so.

The foreign theater The text moves across the ocean, detailing the ambulance drivers, the airmen, and the sailors. It underscores the "job" that must be done, stripping away the glamour of war to reveal it as a necessary, ugly, and urgent task.

The reflective close The final section leaves the war behind for the quiet of a garden or the loss of a loved one. It reconciles the violent, public nature of service with the private, internal life of the individual who faces the end of their own days.

The People

The figures in these pages are archetypes of a transitioning America. Cookie Jim represents the ideal soldier: a man who accepts his humble role as a cook without complaint, proving that "mindin' the job" is the true test of character. In contrast, Briggs of Base No. 8 is the reluctant hero—a slim, red-headed kid who earns a medal for driving an ambulance into hell but insists he is nothing more than a "bluff."

Heinie the Hostler provides a complex study in loyalty; he is a man of German descent who works as a "chambermaid to horses" for the American military, asserting his right to defend his country despite the skepticism of others. The Alien’s wife stands as the most tragic figure; she is a woman defined by her devotion to her child, whose ultimate, violent act of patriotism forces the reader to confront the extreme domestic costs of international conflict. Finally, Grandpa Brown, mourning the loss of the "little feller," represents the bridge between generations, his grief softened by the hope that his grandson will be waiting for him at the gates of the afterlife. These figures do not evolve through complex psychological growth so much as they clarify their own values under the pressures of a world in crisis.

In Its Own Voice

"Wherever that Flag goes, the man who follows, knows That a better, cleaner citizen goes too!"

This reflection on the flag serves as the poet's central thesis on the purifying effect of service.

"I fought with the fear of that fear at my soul, playing no hero's part!"

The soul of Sergeant Todd confesses that the true nature of his courage was not an absence of fear, but the ability to act despite it.

"The badge he'd be glad to throw a mile away Is the one that reads EXEMPT U. S."

This captures the profound sense of inadequacy experienced by those physically unable to join the war effort.

What It's Really About

The central theme is the necessity of "the job"—the idea that individual identity must be subsumed into a greater, collective duty. The book argues that service is not found in grand gestures or loud declarations, but in the mundane, daily performance of one's role, whether that role is cooking, driving an ambulance, or waiting at home. It addresses the tension between the individual's desire for glory and the soldier's reality of waiting, drilling, and dying. Beneath the plot, the book asks a difficult question: how does a person remain "clean" and human while participating in a "hellish game of kill"? The answer it provides is one of resignation and steady, unwavering discipline.

Why Read It Today

Readers who appreciate early 20th-century American vernacular and the earnest, moralizing tone of World War I-era poetry will find this volume compelling. It is a time capsule of a specific, high-stakes patriotism that feels both foreign and intensely human. Reading it today requires a willingness to engage with the period's starkly binary view of the world, where the "Hun" is a monolithic entity and the "Stars and Stripes" is the singular beacon of liberty.

Some readers may find the dialect—particularly in the pieces concerning farm life and children—to be a barrier or a curiosity of its time. The poetry is not high modernism; it is rhythmic, accessible, and designed for an audience that sought clarity in a confusing world. What stays with the reader is the genuine, raw emotion behind the "Little Mother" and the "exempted" youth. The book captures the ache of the bystander and the quiet, often uncelebrated tenacity of the service member. If you are looking for a nuanced, critical history of the war, this will not satisfy you; if you are looking for the heartfelt, if sometimes rigid, pulse of a nation in the middle of a great upheaval, it is an essential window into the American mind of 1917.