Title: John K. Conant Collection, 1917
Arrangement
The papers are housed in random order in one folder.
Abstract
John Kennard Conant was a volunteer with TMU 527 of the American Field Service (AFS) and a Captain with the U.S. Field Artillery during World War I. The John K. Conant Collection consists of five photographic prints of members of TMU 527 in 1917, one French postcard depicting the group’s insignia, a uniform jacket, pants, two caps, and a map case.
Administrative/Biographical History
John Kennard Conant of Upper Montclair, N.J. (Cornell University Class of 1918) was a member of the American Field Service (AFS), a volunteer ambulance service serving with the French Army in France, in 1917. He served for six months with Transport Matériel [Etats-] Unis (TMU) 527, the branch of AFS engaged in the transportation of munitions and supplies, which was also known as the Réserve Mallet. After the United States entered the war in 1917, AFS was absorbed by the U.S. Army and ceased to exist as an independent organization. Conant subsequently enlisted and rose to Captain within the U.S. Field Artillery.
After the war, Conant was Assistant Director of Purchases for the American Viscose Corporation in Philadelphia, and in 1949 became Vice President of Regent Pulp and Chemical Co. Inc. in New York City. In 1954, after AFS had evolved into a student exchange program and was no longer an ambulance service, Conant became the Regional Chairman of the AFS branch in Wilmington, Delaware.
