First World War naval training. US naval cadets training for action during the First World War (1914-1918). Here, the mattresses from their beds are tied around them to act as life preservers in the event of having to abandon ship. The US entered the war on 6 April 1917, playing a crucial role in helping Britain and France to defeat Germany and its allies. The US drafted 4 million men into its armed forces, and by the summer of 1918 US shipping was bringing 10,000 soldiers a day to France to fight in the war. Photographed in April 1917, at Newport Naval Training Station, Rhode Island, USA.