American soldiers sailed for France filled with a sense of democratic mission. Some doughboys, such as George Browne, maintained their idealism to the end. American soldiers, many of whom had been drafted, joined the fighting just after the Russians had withdrawn from the war, leaving France as the main battleground. Although black soldiers faced discrimination, many eventually won respect under the French command. The majority of American soldiers, however, found little that was gallant in rats, lice, and poison gas and—despite the progressives’ hopes—little to elevate the human soul in a landscape of utter destruction and death.