Did Your US Boys Fight For Another Country?

I'm sure any genealogist will tell you not to make assumptions when conducting research. I know this rule, but every now and then it's useful to be reminded of it. This happened to me recently when I discovered that my great-grandmother's brother, George Flynn, fought in WWI as part of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF).

I was searching the online Kalamazoo newspapers at the Kalamazoo Public Library website for my Flynn surname from 1910-1920 when I found an article about George. It reported that he was convalescing in a Liverpool hospital. I never expected that George, who grew up in Oshtemo, or any of my people born in the U.S., would have fought for another country, especially if they served in the U.S. military as George previously had. I don't know how common this was, but this was the first one (that I know of) in my family. Now I will remember not to assume my American boys only served in the U.S. military.

I looked at the date of the article and wondered if George had been wounded at the second Battle of Ypres (in Belgium) which would have been the right time frame. I looked for information about the battle and it was a doozie. It was the first battle that the CEF engaged in overseas. [1] The Germans attacked with chlorine gas, striking the Algerians (part of the French army). [1] The line shattered as the Algerians not killed scattered. [1] The green Canadian troops had to fill the four-mile gap and consequently sustained heavy losses, just over 6,700 killed, wounded or taken prisoner. [1] “Wow,” I thought, “it's no wonder George was in the hospital if he went through a battle like that.”

Naturally, I began searching for Canadian military records and found them at the Library and Archives Canada. After searching their website for soldiers in the CEF in WWI I found five George Flynns and was able to determine which was mine by examining the attestation papers for date and place of birth. I ordered George's file and waited. About three weeks later I received the digitized records. They confirmed that George had been recovering in a hospital in England. However, George was not engaged in the second Battle of Ypres as far as I can tell.

The details surrounding George's time in France are still fuzzy as there were, unfortunately, no descriptive accounts included in the file. However, after scrutinizing everything it appears he was diagnosed with rheumatic fever while on the field in France several days before the Battle of Ypres commenced. George presented with an acute case of rheumatism of the ankles and knees on April 12, 1915. [2, 3] A falling parapet may also have injured his back around the same time and he was reportedly invalided out of the trenches with rheumatic fever on April 26. [4, 5] One document in George's file listed the dates he was admitted to various hospitals and mentioned at least three casualty reports, but unfortunately, these are not were not among the papers in George's file. [3] George recovered, but was considered unfit for regular duty. Instead, he served as a batman (runner/valet) for an officer until he was returned to Canada several months later. [6] A medical board recommended that he be discharged on account of disability. [4, 7]

One last reminder about being careful when reviewing records is the following. There was a single document in George's file that described fractures of the right jaw and radius from a shell explosion, and noted there were symptoms of poison gas exposure. [8] However this was all crossed out. As I originally stated, I found five George Flynns listed as serving in the CEF. There was no mention of any battle-related injuries in George's file, including his discharge papers so I am confident it wasn't my man. [4] My best guess is that the information for another George Flynn was mistakenly included in my George's file and that's why it was crossed out.

There are at least three morals of this story. 1) Don't assume that because your man was born in the United States (and even served in the U.S. Military) that he didn't also serve elsewhere. 2) Never assume that your man was in a battle just because his unit was there (he could have been sick in the hospital or on detached duty elsewhere). 3) Beware of information that is inconsistent with everything else. It isn't necessarily wrong, but you should re-examine all available sources and then make a note of why you think it is correct or not so you don't have to re-trace your steps the next time you look at it.

1. Essay on the Second Battle of Ypres, Library and Archives Canada. Online <http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/first-world-war/interviews/025015-1100-e.html#a.essay>, accessed 12 May 2013.
2. Document 18, Medical Report on an Invalid, 20 Oct 1915, Discharge Documents, George L. Flynn, Regimental No. 16621, Pvt., 7^th Battalion, Soldiers of the First World War – Canadian Expeditionary Force, RG 150, Accession 1992-93/166, Box 3161 – 45, Library and Archives Canada.
3. Documents 30-31, Report of promotions, reductions, transfers, casualties, etc, during active service, (no single date), Discharge Documents, George L. Flynn, Pvt., 7^th Battalion, Soldiers of the First World War – Canadian Expeditionary Force, RG 150, Library and Archives Canada.
4. Documents 6-8, Proceedings on Discharge, 26 May 1916 Discharge Documents, George L. Flynn, Pvt., 7^th Battalion, Soldiers of the First World War – Canadian Expeditionary Force, RG 150, Library and Archives Canada.
5. Documents 14-17, Medical History Of An Invalid, 14 Mar 1917, Discharge Documents, George L. Flynn, Pvt., 7^th Battalion, Soldiers of the First World War – Canadian Expeditionary Force, RG 150, Library and Archives Canada.
6. Documents 18-21, Medical Report on an Invalid, 20 Oct 1915, Discharge Documents, George L. Flynn, Pvt., 7^th Battalion, Soldiers of the First World War – Canadian Expeditionary Force, RG 150, Library and Archives Canada.
7. Documents 10-12, Medical History Of An Invalid, 11 Jul 1916, Discharge Documents, George L. Flynn, Pvt., 7^th Battalion, Soldiers of the First World War – Canadian Expeditionary Force, RG 150, Library and Archives Canada.
8. Documents 36-37, Medical History Sheet, 1 Jul 1915 Discharge Documents, George L. Flynn, Pvt., 7^th Battalion, Soldiers of the First World War – Canadian Expeditionary Force, RG 150, Library and Archives Canada.