Gentleman by Act of Congress

When America declared war against Germany in 1917, my father did what many young patriotic men did and joined the army. As an MD, he was made a second lieutenant and went to France as part of the American Expeditionary Force. He was a flight surgeon in the Army Air Corp and was soon promoted to captain. He was in France for three years until the war was "over, over there".



He left the Army in 1921 and received a full disability retirement. I believe that he had contracted tuberculosis in France, which made him unfit for service. At that time, many people died from tuberculosis, and most others were not able to work.

He spent his whole life on tuberculosis treatment. At that time there was no cure for tuberculosis, but a lot could be done with rest and proper nutrition. He had a remarkable success rate for getting it in remission and people back with their families.