Spanish flu (pandemic influenza)

“influenza seriously depleted troop levels, consumed scarce transportation and medical resources, probably contributed to the problem of stragglers during the Meuse-Argonne campaign, damaged troop morale, and made many people very sick and weak for a long time.” Unlike American training camps, which record all soldiers who reported ill, the AEF in France recorded only those hospitalized, and many soldiers “went to great lengths to avoid going to army hospitals . . . underreporting hid the severity of the situation from the AEF commanders” (Byerly II, 111-112).