Not quite sure if this was ever posted on the forum before, bute quite usefull. Reference on the colours of hat cords used on the campaign style hats of WW1 through to the 30's. It is from a small booklet published in the 20's.
Ah yes, from "Service with fighting men" (page 450) the direct answer about the hat cord. The YMCA, though understaffed and lacking field-experienced people, took on more and more duties associated with staff functions in the military welfare and relief sphere and then (my emphasis):-
On July 28, 1917, the Adjutant General issued a Memorandum to the Chief Secretary for circulation among all workers, calling attention to the fact that "they are now considered as thoroughly miliartized and are, consequently, subject to all the rules, regulations and orders which apply to soldiers in the zone of the armies." On August 14th the Commander-in-Chief notified the Allied Commanders to the same effect. On August 24th the personnel of the YMCA was authorised to wear the uniform of the United States Army, and on August 28th, General Order No. 26 prescribed the broad division of the field of relief and welfare work between the Red Cross and the Y M C A.
[edit] The US evidently took the "miliartization" of the YMCA past the scope of most/all other armies.
-- Edited by Rectalgia on Sunday 17th of June 2012 09:17:37 AM
A bit more context and I can put that on Landships II - couple of period images of US Troops showing the cords on the lemon squeezers would do it I think.
I see YMCA personnel in just about every kind of US Army headgear there was (including battle bowlers). The detailed account referenced in that page, "Service with fighting men," is available from the Internet Archive in numerous formats:
I haven't read that yet but it seems the YMCA was a little bit or in some senses like a civilian commissariat working alongside the US land forces - but with the welfare task firmly the justification and priority.
The YMCA undertook similar work with many combatant armies (and, like the US case, from before WW1 - from the Boer War in the case of Australian colonial and Commonwealth forces) but perhaps not in such numbers. They were one of the three voluntary civilian organisations officially appointed to accompany the Australian Imperial Force overseas in WW1 and they had similar status with the Americans.