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The French mission, which came in April, 1917, headed by Marshal Joffre and Viviani, was a distinguished body, embracing soldiers and sailors who had seen hard service. Joffre, the beloved "hero of the Marne," was the commanding military figure, and Washington, accustomed as it was to celebrities, gave him a reception never excelled in its wild enthusiasm. Everybody fell in love with him. Unaffected, simple, charming, he was the embodiment of French courage and comradeship. Other representatives of foreign governments had pressed the need of money and ships; but Joffre said, "Send fresh soldiers. We can arm them, and they can be trained in France as well as here."

Marshal Joffre expressed more than once his admiration of the appearance of the ships and crews on the American warships which he visited. "It is evident from their appearance, they are ready, enthusiastically ready, and their spic and span appearance is in marked contrast to the grimness of the French naval vessels," he said upon the occasion of his visit to Mt. Vernon, where in his tribute to Washington he said the early coming of American troops to France "will tighten the links of affection and esteem which have ever united France and the United States."