After the declaration of War, when the American Expeditionary Force was organizing, T.R. wired Major General "Black Jack" Pershing and volunteered to form a division and have his sons accompany him to Europe as privates. Pershing, who was a friend of Roosevelt dating back to the Cuban campaign, and had served under him when T.R. was Commander in Chief, accepted the proposal, but the War Department, and President Woodrow Wilson, overrode the decision. Roosevelt took the issue to Congress, but Wilson prevailed. In the end, all four of Roosevelt's sons served in World War I as officers, but Colonel Roosevelt spent the war making speeches for the Red Cross.