On his draft card dated June 5, 1917 my 21 year old grandfather replied, "Support of parents (Mother and stepfather)" to Question No. 12: Do You Claim Exemption From Draft (specify grounds).
He was denied, and later sent to France and Germany along with his older brother Urban.
Elton Wiser served with the 357th Infantry, U.S. Army from October 3, 1917 to May 26, 1919 when the USS Huron sailed from St Nazaire, France, bringing the Yanks back home.
He was denied, and later sent to France and Germany along with his older brother Urban.
Elton Wiser served with the 357th Infantry, U.S. Army from October 3, 1917 to May 26, 1919 when the USS Huron sailed from St Nazaire, France, bringing the Yanks back home.
Elton's father was born in Germany in 1845. He and his young brothers immigrated to Texas with their mother in the early 1850s. He married, farmed, and had many children. But he died at age 50--just months before his son Elton was born:
-- The Galveston Daily News, Wednesday, October 30, 1895, p. 2.
While proud to have served under his hero Gen. John Pershing, I know my grandfather Elton was deeply troubled by the battles he witnessed. Today we call it PTSD. But I never thought to ask him if he felt conflicted fighting in the country of his ancestors. Those ancestors of a man he hadn't known.