An American Ambulance Driver in France during the Great War: The Lasting Memory and Relationship between Harry N. Deyo, the Men of Section 591, and French Civilians
This thesis presents the experiences of Harry N. Deyo, a graduate of the University of Michigan, who volunteered to serve in the United States Army Ambulance Service in France during the Great War. The friendship between Deyo and the drivers of Section 591 lasted throughout his lifetime. These friendships were important to his life; they were a way to share common bonds and to remember the war in the context of camaraderie and affection between themselves and the French civilians who cared for them. The role of rural French civilians and the relationships formed with the American ambulance drivers is also explored. Studies of collective memory and remembrance evidence the bond shared among these distinctive groups of people. This thesis argues that the relationships between the men of Section 591 and the French civilians they encountered were unique experiences and had lasting effects long after the end of the war
