When Christmas Comes Again: The World War I Diary of Simone Spencer, New York City to the Western Front, 1917

On Sunday, June 28, 1914, an 18-year-old Serbian student, Gavrilo Princip, shot and killed Archduke Franz (Francis) Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary and nephew of the emperor Franz (Francis) Joseph I and his wife. This assassination set off a chain reaction that started World War I — a war that lasted more than four years, involved more than 30 nations, and claimed more than 14 million lives, both military and civilian. It cost untold billions of dollars, ravaged Europe, toppled kings and emperors, and sowed the seeds of World War II. The war was fought between the Allies (France, Britain, Russia, Italy, the United States, Belgium, Serbia, Montenegro, Romania, Greece, Portugal, and Japan) against the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, and Bulgaria).

American President Woodrow Wilson tried to keep the United States out of the war, but Germany policy of unrestricted submarine warfare meant that even U.S. merchant ships could be sunk by the Germans. After months of protesting this policy, Wilson felt he had no choice. On April 2, 1917, Wilson asked Congress to declare war. Within two months, the American Expeditionary Force (A.E.F.) landed in France. By the end of the war, over 2 million American men fought in World War I.

American Women served as nurses, ambulance drivers and operators on the front and worked in weapon factories on the home front. They also took over many jobs that were left vacant by men who had been drafted. Simone is one of the girls who made a difference in fighting World War I.

Meet Simone Spencer

At first Simone Spencer is shocked by the war and fears what it will bring. She writes in her journal about the day her brother leaves for the front:

June 24

Will’s leaving. He ships out the day after tomorrow and I’m afraid I’m not handling the news very well. The papers show horrible pictures of the war, and I just hope Will understands what he’s doing. I know I made jokes about it, but, really, he will have to be a soldier over there in the trenches. He’ll have to be a different person entirely.

Since she speaks both French and English, Simone Spencer realizes that she can help in the war effort too. She soon follows her brother to help out as an AT&T operator:

July 6

Working the switchboards here is an entirely different experience. Our knowledge of French makes us the only link between the advancing American and French units. Our translations have to be rapid and correct. Because the soldiers at either end cannot hear one another, we have to relay actual military messages. We are now living with the constant pressure that a misinterpretation could mean an artillery barrage falling on friendly troops, or troops being exposed to devastating enemy fire because units are advancing at different speeds. We even have to have some knowledge of tactics and weaponry, as we might have to decipher garbled military jargon that is of vital importance. We have been given some demonstrations by soldiers to prepare us.

There are some soldiers who are doubtful that we can do the job. “Women giving battle orders!” they say in disbelief. We will show them.