William Earl Relf (1887-1964) served in World War I. He was drafted in Sept 1917, trained at Camp Funston in the first half of 1918, and set sail in June 1918. He returned to the US in 1919.
Registration
The US officially entered World War I in April 1917. The Selective Service Act of 1917 was enacted in May 18, 1917, to conscript or draft men for a national army. Roughly 24 million men (between the ages of 18 and 45) completed a Registration Card for the draft.
The draft consisted of three stages. The first stage was completed on June 5, 1917 for men between the ages of 21 and 31. Relf completed his registration during the first stage.
Columbus, Kansas
05 Jun 1917, Tue • Page 1
The Columbus Daily Advocate wrote on June 14, 1917 that the Cherokee County registered 2890 names of men between the ages of 21 and 31 and that there was a “Big Job for Clerk” as Masterson had to copy the list three times: once for public posting, once for the War Department and once for publication.
As far as it is known, every man in the county between the ages of 21 and 31 registered, at least if there are any slackers they have not been found.
Columbus Daily Advocate, Columbus, Kansas, June 14, 1917, page 1
Exemption Claimed for Dependency
Relf claimed a dependent wife and was granted a a temporary exemption until November 15.
In the Sept 1, 1917 edition of the Topeka Daily Capital, the paper reported that local exemption boards were failing in their duty because “it is one continual fight with the local boards to get them to ‘come across’ with the necessary information in regard to appeal dependency claims.”
Enlistment
Despite the temporary exemption, Relf enlisted in early October of 1917 and was present on the roll by October 20, 1917 at Camp Funston
Finding the Yellow Bricks 