Americans in the CEF

[marc leroux]

I've read that Americans serving in the CEF during the First War had their citizenship revoked because of the legalities of serving in a foreign army. Apparently a special law was passed prior to WW2 making an exception in this case.

Does anyone have any idea if this is true, and if it was, was it enforced. I know that McClintock was accepted back into the US army and made no mention of any citizenship issues.

TIA

marc

[Tom Morgan]

Hello, Marc,

I heard something about this diplomatic problem a few years ago, from a friend who worked in an American cemetery. There was a problem when American citizens serving in the Canadian or British armies died or were killed in action. This dated from the days before the US declared war on Germany. If I remember correctly, the argment was that as America was not at war with Germany, it was technically impossible for an American citizen to be fighting the Germans.

I think that for diplomatic purposes, Americans fighting in the armies of other countries were considered to have lost their American citizenship as far as their military service was concerned, so that in the event of the soldier's death, his relatives couldn't have his body repatriated for burial, and so on. Such soldiers would be buried as Canadians or British soldiers according to the burial regulations of those countries.

I do remember my friend telling me that a new law was made after the war, to sort out the details of this problem. This law may have reversed this loss of rights, allowing bodies to be repatriated or moved to American cemeteries, but I'm not sure about this last point.

Tom

[mordac]

Hi Tom:

I've heard something similar to what you posted about Americans who were killed while serving with foreign forces during the Great War. However, I'm not sure an American automatically lost his citizenship if he joined the CEF or BEF prior to the United States officially entering the war. After all, there were several thousand Americans who enlisted in the CEF and there were several CEF battalions who were predominately formed using American recruits: 211th Bn. (Alberta Americans), 212th Bn. (Winnipeg Americans), 213th Bn. (Toronto Americans) and 237th Bn. (Nova Scotia Americans).

There was also some CEF recruiting on the East and West coasts of the United States. The American Government knew this was happening, but I think they turned a blind eye to the practice. The CEF stopped actively recruiting Americans when the US entered the war.

Garth

[Tom Morgan]

Hi Garth,

Yes - I think you're absolutely right. "Lost their American citizenship" was probably too strong a term and implies something I didn't mean. What I meant to say was that these soldiers' American citizenship caused a slight "diplomatic definition" problem in the event of their being killed, according to my friend. It was just a war-grave issue. I didn't mean to suggest that the US disowned any men who joined foreign armies.

Tom

[Peter Beckett]

There may another slant to this. If an American citizen joined the British Army/CEF/AIF, he would have had to sign allegiance to the Crown. This may have revoked his American citizenship as America is a republic and did/does not accept dual citizenship. I know that this existed and may still, as an American workmate of mine would not become an Australian as at the time (20 years ago) he would have had to accept the Crown in his naturalisation ceremony.

Peter

Edited 26 May , 2004 by Peter Beckett

[Neil Burns]

Hi All,

I can say my Great Uncle did not lose his citizenship even though for all pratical purposes he should have for taking an oath to a European Monarch! The State of New York even issued him a World War Service Medal.

As far as legislative history in regards to this I am ignorant but it certainly had no impact on Social Security, that I'm aware of, which was instituted in the '30's I really don't think the US saw it as a major issue or saw former CEF members as someone to be harassed, I think it was rather diplomatically ignored. My Great Uncle would have been easy to track down he was the only one in a kilt at the Jersey City Armistice Day parades.

My Great-Uncle was, toward the end of his life, politely asked to leave a VA hospital as he had never served in the US armed forces. Which was quite true.

In the course of research into the Polish Army in France, as I've mentioned before, I've found the US stance to be, after April 1917, if you were a citizen and subject to the draft you were expected to serve with the US. If, however, you were not a US citizen and thus not subject to the draft you could enlist in an Allied force. If you were not a citizen you could volunteer to serve in the US forces and thus accelerate your US citizenship.

Interesting I always just assumed it was a less bureaucratic world back then but now that I think about it there proabably was some legislation regarding this.

Take care,

Neil

[paul guthrie]

Peter & Neil have hit on it. When one attested ot one of the British Empire Armies he swore an oath to the king which did jeopardize citizenship. We do not know if that would have been enforced cause US declared war April 6 1917.

It was unusual for US citizen to join another army after that but happened. John Benjamin French of Lexington Kentucky, for whom I recently got a new CWGC stone for his burial place here, a black man, joined Canadian Army June 1918, maybe to avoid being drafted into an army where he would be treated worse tho it's my understanding that the Canadian Forestry Corps unit he served in was segregated.

Samuell Douthitt Hill, New Castle Kentucky joined NZ Army in 1918 , was in diplomatic service there & thought that was the quickest way into our army but was killed 1st, I wrote a Stand To! article about his interesting story & Verdun trip pals saw his unusual grave at Somme American Cemetery, Bony, unusual cause only service was NZ Rifle Brigade. If someone wants this and does not have ST! I can email, ST! better, has pictures.