1914
AFS Ambulance Section SSU 10 en route to France, 1916
WWI – In 1914 A. Piatt Andrew organized the American Field Service (AFS) whose mission was to transport wounded French soldiers.
- WWI -
A. Piatt Andrew, founder of the American Field Service with Stephen Galatti, Adjutant in the car park at AFS Paris Headquarters, 1917
- WWI -
AFS Section 1 ambulance unloading the wounded in Esperance, France, 1917
- WWI -
Headquarters of SSU 10 in Koritza, Albania, 1917. AFS served in the Balkans with the French army of the Orient
By 1917, AFS had grown to 2,500 drivers who had carried more than 500,000 wounded.
between the wars
Stephen Galatti helped create AFS Fellow- ships in French Universities which sent 222 college students both to and from the United States between 1919 and 1952.
Upon A. Piatt Andrew’s death, Stephen Galatti became Director General of the organization in 1936.
- WWII -
AFS drivers evacuated the wounded of the British Fourteenth and Twelfth armies in India Burma.
In September 1939 when WWII began, Stephen Galatti re-organized AFS as a volunteer ambulance corps which served in France, North Africa, Middle East, and Italy.
- WWII -
Joseph Fogg at the burning of Bergen- Belsen concentration camp after the evacuation in May 1945
AFS helped evacuate Bergen Belsen 2 weeks after Anne Frank died there.
after WWII
AFS bus trip photo, 1952
After the war, Stephen Galatti and 250 AFS drivers pledged to sustain their tradition of international service and created the AFS International Scholarships.
1950s - 60s
AFS students and chaperones on the westbound crossing of the m/s Seven Seas, August 25, 1964
At the time of Stephen Galatti’s death in 1964, the AFS programs included 60 countries.
1970s - 80s
Multinationalization of the program was realized in 1971 with the introduction of multinational students exchanges between countries other than the U.S.
1990s
In the 1990’s AFS began its Community Service Programs and extended its network to 52 countries.
Today
AFSer Cecilia Shea with host parents in Panama
Today 314,200 participants and host families have taken part in AFS exchanges facilitated by 100,000 volunteers.
WWII Ambulance drivers at the AFS World Congress in Belgium in 2000, AFS Trustees pictured above are Ward Chamberlin (2nd from left) and Fred Balderston (5th from the left)
A profound idea born of war, AFS today is a leader in the field of international cultural exchange.