Memoirs of the Foreign Legion by Maurice Magnus

SOON after Italy joined the war in 1915 I felt I wanted to do something in this great struggle and volunteered for the Red Cross Service; first in Italy, where my application was answered with "only Italians can do service." I wrote to France, and a very courteous reply came that they were not in need of any one just then, thanked me for my devotion, and would let me know if an occasion for my services presented itself. I wrote to Russia and received an extremely polite answer, in English, that their Red Cross Service was complete and that they had no need of my help. I wrote to Servia and received a curt reply that they had all the help they needed. Soon after receiving the latter, Lady X. in London, at some meeting, called upon those who were capable to volunteer for the Red Cross in Servia, as they were much in need of male and female nurses. I sent her the reply I had received through the Servian Legation in Rome. I did not offer my services to England, as I had heard that no foreigner, including Americans, could serve in the British Army or British Red Cross.

When all these attempts failed I thought of the Foreign Legion, and in the early days of March, 1916, crossed from Naples to Palermo on my way to Tunis and Algiers.