The more things change, the more they stay the same
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When the United States entered World War I, there was an immediate need for American armed forces to expand quickly. Men were drafted, and volunteered to serve in the military. During this time in history women, for the most part, did not serve in any capaciThe more things change, the more they stay the same
When the United States entered World War I, there was an immediate need for American armed forces to expand quickly. Men were drafted, and volunteered to serve in the military. During this time in history women, for the most part, did not serve in any capacity in the armed forces. Men between the ages of 18 and 31 made up the bulk of the fighting force. In 1917, federal officials were horrified to learn that one-third of U.S. troops were infected with syphilis or gonorrhea. Of course those numbers were horribly wrong. While venereal disease was a problem for the armies of the day, different nations handled these diseases differently. Germany provided brothels for their soldiers, higher end for the officers, lower end for the enlisted soldiers. France legalized prostitution and, like the British, gave their troops condoms. For the United States: American soldiers were ordered to be chaste and were punished if they weren't. All encampments were enclosed in barbwire and had a single guarded entrance. Guards were empowered to screen all men entering a camp for possible sexual encounters with French women. The least suspicion got a soldier an immediate irrigation of his penis and bladder with a solution of potassium permanganate. Men who had any evidence of gonorrhea or syphilis were hospitalized and/or confined to the stockade, pay and allowances suspended. Condoms were never - never - given by the U.S. Army to American soldiers. Of course, that was only for the soldiers in the war zone. In the United States morality laws were enacted. Read more