My Trails into the Past

Today, April 6, is the 103rd anniversary of the United States declaring war on Germany and the beginning of our involvement in the “War to end all wars” (i.e. World War I). In the beginning, President Woodrow Wilson hoped that there would be enough volunteers to support the U.S. army, but by six weeks later, only 73,000 men had volunteered. [1] Congress enacted the Selective Service Act of 1917. The first of four registrations was conducted on June 5, 1917 and all males between the ages of 21 and 30 were to register. [2] My great-uncle, John Cyril “Jack” Sullivan, is not listed in this draft. [3] There may be two reasons. First, he enlisted in the army on 4 June 1917. [4]  Second, he had already turned 30. [5] It wasn’t until the third registration on 12 Sep 1918 that men 18 to 45 had to register. [6] It is important to understand why someone is not in a record when one expects them to be there. One way is to understand why the record was created. Usually there is...