Today, the question of who might have served during World War I came up. There was a draft, starting in 1917, and it initially took men aged 21 - 31. This was later opened up to men aged 18 - 45. All men registered, but not all were called upon to serve. The chart above helps determine the likelihood of being called into active service. Generally, the drafted came from Class I.
Both Mr. Kirby and Paul Sycamore would have fallen into a different class -- they were responsible for their spouse and young children, and the odds they would have been drafted were greatly decreased by that fact. Grandpa would have been to old for the draft; Ed too young; DePinna in Italy; and Kolenkhov in Russia. In fact, the most likely person to have been sent into service was Donald -- not that I think he was, but he would have been just at the cusp of the right age.
Both Mr. Kirby and Paul Sycamore would have fallen into a different class -- they were responsible for their spouse and young children, and the odds they would have been drafted were greatly decreased by that fact. Grandpa would have been to old for the draft; Ed too young; DePinna in Italy; and Kolenkhov in Russia. In fact, the most likely person to have been sent into service was Donald -- not that I think he was, but he would have been just at the cusp of the right age.