Historian to explore WWI ambulance volunteers in library talk

An American Field Service ambulance and driver in World War I

ASHEBORO – The nexus between military and literary history will come to light as Asheboro resident Ronald (Pete) Poteat discusses the volunteer ambulance drivers of the American Field Service in World War I.

Poteat will use photographs, moving pictures and artifacts to illuminate the ambulance volunteers’ history during his talk at 6 p.m. Thursday, November 12, at the Asheboro Public Library. Sponsored by the Friends of the Library, the event is free and the public is invited.

“At the start of World War I, while America remained neutral, young Americans in ever increasing numbers went to Europe to aid the Allied war effort,” Poteat says.

“Many of these volunteers, such as notable literary figures Ernest Hemingway, e.e. cummings, John Dos Passos and others, drove ambulances in France, Belgium and Italy, significantly benefitting the Allies while helping the Allied cause back in the U.S.A.”     

Originally from Eden, N.C., Poteat has lived in Asheboro since 1997. He holds a BA in History and English from UNC-Greensboro, and has been interested in literature and military history since grade school.

“The volunteer ambulance drivers are a nice intersection of my interests,” he says. He co-authored an article on the subject for Military Trader magazine and served as an adviser to the American Field Service for its Centennial Exhibition.