BALTIMORE MAN MEMBER CANADIAN AMERICAN LEGION

WORLD WAR ONE

1916

SERVICE IN THE

CANADIAN AMERICAN LEGION

This is a history of Ralph Hodgdon, 414 North Carrollton Avenue, Baltimore Maryland, from the November 20, 1916 issue of the Baltimore Sun newspaper, who had joined the Canadian American Legion at Camp Borden at Algonquin Park. His service was shortly ended because of bad eyesight.

Ralph was a member of the Maryland National Guard for nine years and while on a business trip to Canada was persuaded to enlist in the Canadian American Legion, a Canadian contingent of American volunteers, preparatory for war life in Europe.

The men were paid $1.10 a day for service, received $20 a month from The Canadian Patriotic Fund and $15 a month from the Canadian Women’s League. They were fed from the cream of the country, a sample meal being oatmeal with milk and cream, the best thin sliced bacon, hominy, excellent bread, great coffee and cherry jam.

When Mr. Hodgdon was released because of his poor eyesight the were 213 men in the Canadian American Legion unit at Camp Borden, 100 miles north of Toronto, near Algonquin Park, where there were some 40,000 men of the Canadian Army.

Always on duty, they got three days off every second week and the equipment was new and of the best makes. The regiments were made up according to physical and racial classification.