Happy Days

Introduction

Happy Days: A Humorous Narrative in Drawings of the Progress of American Arms 1917-1919 by Captain Alban Butler was published by the Society of the First Division, AEF, in 1928. Capt. Butler was the aide-de-camp to General Summerall, then in command of the First Field Artillery Brigade of the First Division. Following the First Division’s success at Cantigny, Gen. Summerall ordered his intelligence officer to put together a daily bulletin of news and humor to help keep morale up as the Division held its defensive positions in the Cantigny sector. Capt. Butler began drawing cartoons for what became the brigade’s trench newspaper, The Observer. As word of the newspaper and Butler’s cartoons spread, it eventually found its way to all the units in the Division. Much of the history of the First Division during World War I can be found in Capt. Butler’s humorous take on both the horrific and mundane.

As you read through this book and view the cartoons, keep in mind they are an artifact of the time period and reflect a much different view on racial and cultural differences.

Images (Click to Enlarge)