Veterans Day, 2019

I remember it being called Armistice Day when I was young, and the holiday was always celebrated on November 11, the day the Armistice ending World War I was signed and went into effect.  I had two grandfathers eligible for service in the war, one of whom served in the Army briefly and the other of whom apparently didn’t.

Lyle Denman, my maternal grandfather, registered and was drafted and I have written briefly about his service before.  Henry Salt, my paternal grandfather, registered for the draft but was not apparently drafted.  When I look at the two registrations I see some similarities.  Both were young married men, and I know by history that neither yet had any living children.  Both were working, Lyle at a bank and Henry was farming.

However, there are also interesting differences in the index cards.  They registered on the same day, June 5, one year apart, and in the same state (Ohio), however the forms are slightly different.  On Henry’s there is a question about what military service you have had, and another asking if you claim exemption and on what grounds.  Lyle’s registration does not ask these questions.  These differences are likely to be a function of registering in two different years.  Henry registered in 1917, being 26 years old on June 5 but Lyle did not register until 1918 having turned 21 after the first registration in 1917.

When I first looked at these registrations I didn’t pay attention to the differences.  On a closer look, however, I was intrigued to see that Henry claimed 6 months of service in the National Guard as a private guard (I think that is what was meant).  I haven’t been able to discover much yet about such service, but it seems likely that in the time period between his 18th birthday (in August, 1908) and when he got married in 1913, Henry might have joined.  He was living in Cincinnati by 1910 and working as a machinist.  I do not think that such military service would have exempted him from the draft, but farming and having a wife who would have had difficulties supporting herself might have exempted him.  At any rate, Henry Salt did not get drafted or serve in the War.