The United States entered World War 1 in April 1917 with 132,000 soldiers in its Army. The government set about building an army that would number 3.5 million by the end of the war, 2.8 million of them were conscripts.
The U.S. government failed to meet its volunteer recruitment goals for the Army early on and Congress passed a very controversial draft – one that initially targeted the poor, the small-scale farmers, and those without political connections. Along with the draft law, Congress passed laws making it illegal to criticize the draft or the war.
During the debate on the draft bill in Congress, Daniel Garrett, a member of Congress from Texas, placed a letter he had received Into the Congressional record: “The best informed and patriotic citizens of Wilbarger County implore you and the entire Texas delegation to support the president, not because we are bloodthirsty and love war, but because we believe we are sane and realize the importance of immediate and decisive action.”
Garrett voted for the war and the draft.
Wilbarger County was also represented by an at-large congressman Jeff McLemore and he came down on the opposite side of the issue – saying the draft was supported by the nation’s elite. He complained that all of the pro-draft literature he received from Texas, was actually financed from New York.
He stated that “if he was going to take his orders from New York, he would do so directly and save his constituents the expense of forwarding the instructions to him.”
McLemore was one of 50 in congress who voted against declaring war, and opposed to the draft.
Selective Service
Each county had a draft board and was required to have a doctor on the board. Questionnaires were sent to every man in the county and were required to be returned. The board then interviewed each one. Each man was placed into one of four categories – a pool to be drawn from. While the pool was available, the local draft board never used anyone other than Class 1 men to meet the government assigned quota for soldiers from the county. The Wilbarger County board consisted of attorney Cecil Storey, doctor B.D. Flaniken and businessman Sid Vaughn. Vaughn later resigned stating the work was all-consuming and his business had suffered from his work on the board. He was replaced by A.M. Hiatt.
The majority of local soldiers who served during the war were drafted. Most of those draftees from Wilbarger County were sent to Camp Travis, in San Antonio, and many were placed in the 90th Division. However, some draftees were sent to Camp Cody in New Mexico to fill shortages. Some black draftees were sent to Kansas. I’ll discuss the draft and African-Americans in an upcoming post.
In Wilbarger County 2,912 men registered for selective service during 1917 and 1918, with 426 of those drafted into military service.
The records show that 1,352 men signed up for selective service in Wilbarger County in the first call in 1917. This first call to register was for all men 21 to 30. Of those, 365 were placed in Class 1 – which consisted generally of fit unmarried men, married men without children, or poor married men making less of a wage ($30 per month) than they would if they were in the Army.
Of these 365 Class 1 men, 321 white men and 18 black men were drafted into the Army. Nine whites and one black man were allowed to join limited service – such as mechanic school.
Fifteen men were classified as deserters and several men were given deferment – at least one deferment was for a minister and eight for agriculture. One deferment was controversial, and the draft board ended up running an explanation for its decision in the Vernon Record due to an outcry of favoritism – the young man was from one of the richest and most prominent families in Vernon. An investigation of the board’s actions was conducted by the state board, who found no wrongdoing. The board stated that any registrant had the same right to bring attorneys and witnesses when it was their turn to meet the board and ask for a deferment. The deferred man later was allowed to join the Navy, despite the Navy being at full manpower.
Another 131 men attained the age of 21 in the summer of 1918. Of those, 80 were placed in Class 1 – and 43 were inducted into service. A.B. Swartwood, who had been placed in Class 2, agreed to go in place of a Class 1 qualifier and was assigned to special mechanical training.
The Vernon newspaper reported that during the summer of 1918, the Class 1 men who were waiting to be inducted got a head start on their training. They drilled twice a day, three days a week for two hours at the courthouse square. There were approximately 50 people involved in the drills. Later the newspaper reported that it served the men well, as many had been placed in non-commissioned officer roles due to their knowledge of the drills.
The Army faced a manpower shortage, as it was estimated that three million soldiers would be needed to defeat Germany in 1919. The draft age cutoffs were then lowered from 21 to 18, and raised from 31 to 36. The next call in Sept., 1918 was for boys aged 18. There were 131 in Wilbarger County, with 115 in Class 1. Of those, four were sent to student army training corps. In that same call 660 men were between 19 and 21 or 31 and 36 and registered; with 219 placed in Class 1 — 12 were sent to officer training school or student training. The age was again expanded and the final call was men 37 to 45. This group had 666 men, 55 were Class 1, but the war ended before this group was called.
Wilbarger County had 31 percent of its eligible men placed in Class 1, while the state average for a county was around 28 percent.
The law required that everyone who registered carry their card with them and exhibit it upon request, to prove they were not deserters or “slackers.” By the fall of 1918, the government had instituted a work or fight policy – anyone without a job would be rounded up and sent to the army. The government also instituted a selective service for women.
Show of support
In June 1918, the Vernon Record reported on 71 draftees being sent to training. Another 100 more were set to be sent in July.
June 25, 1918: “The stores closed at noon yesterday and practically all of the business population of Vernon, together with relatives and friends gathered at the depot to bid farewell to seventy-one Wilbarger County boys who entrained for Camp Travis.”
Samuel Ferris Holmes was placed in charge of the draftees with Marion B. Rhoads as first assistant.
The draftees included Edgar A. Smith, Owen Edwin Carpenter, Robert Johnson, Temple E. Serimshire, William L. Colley, Mercer W. Flourney, Odell Rector, Walter White, J. Holt Lloyd, John Streit, Emil Lehman, Rudolph Streit, Jonas Zeiset, Josias Zeiset, Albert Streit Jr., John G. Weideranders, Herman H. Schumann, Connie Drake, Everett M. Haney, Floyd E. Barbee, Earl W. Phoenix, James R. Bumpass, Horace F. Teel, George D. Pouncy, Jesse H. Rudd, William S. Bourland, Charles T. Fike, Earnest T. Pope, William H. Ross, Roy Oglesby, Marvin H. Stephens, Clint Dickey, Ulyss King, Warner W. Duke, Oscar L. Mathis, James L. Sullivan, Roy Lee Smithson, Earl Stine, Columbus D. Lee, John C. Lynn, Willie Willhoit, Felix M. Doss, Jim Hightower, H. Grady Stowe, Walter S. Patterson, James S. Armstrong, Hershel Thompson, Shelby S. Carpenter, Leonard B. Smith, Carrol M. Britian, Allen G. Gorley, John Crabtree, William S. Stine, Solon P. Crain, Earl Charlie Waters, W Claude Bildstein, William R. Alexander, Elihu E. Redford, Joseph R. Mitchell, Frank Spradling, Chester A. Barnes, Walter H. Kee, Albert A. Lloyd, Tony Hazzlewood, Mac William Horton, James L. Ivy, Thomas Grooms, John M. Pool and Roy Broakshire McClure.
The newspaper noted that many of these men were above six-foot-tall; with Earl Waters coming in at 6 feet nine.
Of these men, all returned home except McClure – he is listed on the county’s war memorial monument. He died of influenza.
Many of these draftees received little training before being shipped overseas and were often assigned as replacements.
Bildstein was in France by early August, 1918 a replacement with Company C of the 56th Infantry.
“You should see me in my equipment: tool pack, gas mask, cartridge belt, and all of my weapons. Don’t worry about me. I am doing fine and getting fatter every day,” Bildstein wrote.
He wrote that he had just been paid, but couldn’t afford candy or tobacco. He said he was sleeping in a loft of an old barn. He makes his bed with another soldier to stay warm.
Weideranders was also in France, he reported his unit was marching to the front when an airplane landed to announce the Armistice. Spradling was in the 7th Division overseas, and arrived in France in September, 1918. Stine was with an ordinance company in France,
Carpenter sailed on Sept. 16 to France on a horse transport, looking after horses. He said it took 22 days to get there and 16 days back. He stated he had influenza on trip over but was better. No served in a veterinarian corp., receiving his training at Camp Lee Va.
Others never left camp, such as Walter White who served with distinction in the 165th Depot squad at Camp Travis – being promoted to corporal and then sergeant in Oct, 1918. Another from this draft group, E.T. Pope was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant in October after passing the officer examine and assigned to Camp Funston, Kansas.
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