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Alec served our country in the United States Army in the 79th Infantry World War I (WWI) in 1917. World War I soldiers were nicknamed “doughboys.” He served in the European Theatre as a blacksmith with Co., H, 313 Inf., 79th Division. Since the United States Army wasn’t a mechanized Army at this point in history, this was a very important position to hold. It is believed Alec saw action during one of the first major engagements involving American troops and he later transferred to the 82nd Division. He trained at Ft. Oglethorpe, Georgia. When Alec returned from Europe, he brought home an Army machine which knitted socks. His military gravestone is engraved, "Alexander K. Spade, Maryland, Horseshoer Sup Co 326 INF World War I March 9, 1897 Sept 1 1960."

(Source: http://www.pershingsdoughboys.org/index.html) “"We may as well begin by explaining an accepted origin for the term Doughboy which has become so closely associated with the soldiers of the American Expeditionary Force in WW1. Our minds must be cast back to 1916 and the punitive expedition across the Mexican border to catch the infamous Pancho Villa. Coined as a term of derision toward infantrymen, as they became covered in the fine adobe dust thrown up by cavalry hooves and motor transport wheels, the term soon evolved into quite the opposite as it would mark the men as combat veterans who had gone overseas to do their bit for Uncle Sam.”"