John entered the Michigan Army National Guard when he turned 18 in 1914. He was in the 33rd Division of the 1st Michigan Infantry Regiment of the 126th Infantry Unit in I Company. The Michigan Guard was deployed to Mexican Border duty on 19 June 1916 during the United States and Mexican Conflict which involved the Mexican revolutionary Santa Anna. Michigan was sent to El Paso, Texas. John’s unit was the last to arrive and the last to leave.

When tensions began to rise with Germany, the Wisconsin and Michigan National Guard units were recalled to their home states. John’s unit returned to Michigan but, unlike the 31st, and 32nd, the men of the 33rd were not allowed to return to their farms. They were redeployed throughout the state to protect vulnerable areas, in lieu of the expected upcoming conflict with Germany. It was from this defensive posture that he was drafted into the regular army on 5 August 1917. The “draft” was voluntary. At the time, it was unconstitutional to send National Guard units overseas to engage in battle against any enemy. It was therefore determined that, those willing members of the National Guard were to be “drafted” into Federal service, unwilling members were allowed at that time to bow out. There is no record of any member of either the Michigan or Wisconsin National Guard bowing out.

John’s Division was combined with other Michigan and Wisconsin Guard units to form the regular Army 32nd Division. The best records document that most or all of the Michigan 33rd Division, I Company became L Company of the 3rd Battalion of the 125th Infantry Regiment, of 63rd Infantry Brigade, of the 32nd Division of the 3rd Army.

The 32nd Division was one of the most decorated and busiest Army Divisions of World War 1. As a Division, they were the 6th to join the Armed Expeditionary Forces and as such, they fought on five fronts and in three major offensives for a total of six months under fire in the summer and fall of 1918. During that time, they met and repelled 23 different German Divisions, including the highly decorated “Kaisers Own”. They earned the name “Les Terribles” from the French for their ferocity and valor in battle and, they earned the red arrow that adorns their uniforms for the way that they pierced through enemy lines.

The Division trained together in Camp MacArthur in Waco, Texas. After several months of intense training and an infusion of several thousand volunteers from around the country, the Division moved to ports of embarkation and began boarding ships bound for Europe. On 16 February 1918, the 126TH Infantry Regiment finished boarding the USS_ President Grant_ at the Port of Embarkation in Hoboken, NJ. Two days later they set sail for France in a convoy. Upon reaching France, John did not immediately see battle. His Regiment was originally tasked with other duties until the night of 30 July 1918. The following morning, both Infantry Brigades of the 32D Division went into action side by side. It was in this battle, the first attack in the Chateau-Thierry Offensive, on 31 July 1918 that John was wounded for the first time. He was the only member of I Company wounded on that day.

John was back in action when the 32nd moved to the “new front” on 24 August. They moved their Division to the Soissons Sector where they would once again engage the enemy. During this offensive, John took part in the battle of Juvigny. It was a battle that earned the entire Division the respect and accolade of the entire French 10th Army and its Commanding Officer General Mangin. Armistice was declared on 11 November 1918, and while the 32nd was occupying Germany, General Mangin came to inspect and congratulate the Division on 14 April 1919. He decorated the colors of all three machine gun battalions, all three artillery regiments, and all four infantry regiments with the Croix de Guerre (Cross of War) with Palm. This is the highest order of the Croix de Guerre. These were the only National Guard units honored with this specific medal and device combination during World War 1.

The Division continued to fight on various battlefields, but in the Meuse-Argonne battle, the 32nd Division fought as a member of the 1st American Army instead of the 3rd American Army to whom they had originally been attached. At the time, and perhaps even today, it was the largest battle in American history. John’s unit was brought in as a “Shock Unit”. These units were utilized when an enemy was deeply entrenched and considered ‘unmovable’ by other units. Shock Units received a great deal of accolade and glory and they paid in their own blood for that fame. Casualties in Shock Units was extremely high.

The Units became a vanguard that rushed the enemy with overwhelming numbers and unwavering ferocity. They began their barrage on 5 September and continued unabated until they broke through. It was during one of these “Shock” campaigns on 4 October that John received his second wound. Once again, John did not abandon his Unit. He remained with them after the battle of Meuse-Argonne was ended by Armistice.

John continued with his Unit when they marched up the Rhine in mid-November 1918 and stayed with them when they moved in to occupy Germany on 17 November 1918. However, John’s orders to return home came earlier than many of his fellow soldiers. By General Order #42 Paragraph 1, all National Guard personnel who had been drafted were to be discharged before the regular army. And hence, John set sail for home on the USS Leviathan on 26 March 1919 from Brest, France. The regular Army part of his Unit began leaving Germany on 17 April 1919.

At some point during his time in Europe, John was promoted from Private to Corporal. His dog tags were crudely modified in the field to reflect his new rank. John's WW1 Victory Medal was adorned with 4 devices with the names of the 4 major battles in which he took part. He also received a Purple Heart with one oak leaf device, a German Occupation Medal, and for his bravery while in the Michigan National Guard, he received a Mexican-American War Medal.

John William Arndt