For a generation the Lost Battalion exemplified the best of America's involvement in World War I. Until World War II pushed the Lost Battalion out of the national memory with its own scenes of horror and heroism, mention of the unit's name summoned up what America admired in its soldiers: unpretentious courage, dogged resistance, and good cheer and adaptation under adversity. Thomas M. Johnson was a newspaperman and author who covered World War I. Fletcher Pratt was a historian and prolific author. Edward M. Coffman is a professor emeritus of history at the University of Wisconsin at Madison and the author of several books, including The War to End All Wars: The American Military Experience in World War I.