WORLD WAR I DRAFT REGISTRATION CARDS

A few weeks ago I was looking at a free trial offer on Ancestry.com and was able to access their World War I Draft Registration Cards. These cards contain some very interesting information. I did a search and was able to locate all the Self men that registered for the draft for a particular area. I searched for Monroe and Blount Counties in Tennessee and found 12 Self men from our branch of the family who registered. Those were: Harrison C. Self, Miles C. Self, William Lee Onie Self, William Floyd Self, Luther Self, Sherman Self, William Emery Self, Roley S. Self, John Simp Self, George Washington Self, Floyd James Self and Fred Self. AS I stated, their draft cards contain some very interesting information such as their addresses, next-of-kin, dates of birth, occupations, height, color of eyes and hair.

I would like to know if any of these men were actually drafted to serve during the war.

World War I was declared on July 28, 1914 and the United States entered the war on April 6, 1917. The war ended (Armistice) on November 11, 1918. The Selective Service Act required men between the ages of 21 and 30 to register for the draft. 2, 800,000 men were inducted during the war in the United States. About 2,000,000 American soldiers served in France. There were 116, 516 U.S. military casualties.

If anyone knows if any of our Self men served, I would appreciate hearing about it. I will also be happy to share any of the information I found from the draft cards upon request.