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Because of my convictions and the teachings of the Bible, and because of my affiliation with the Church of the Brethren, I cannot conscientiously do military service in any form whatever.” So stated Lloyd C. Blickenstaff (my father) on May 17, 1918 at Camp Zachary Taylor, Kentucky, when he was being court-martialed for refusing to obey orders. A transcript of the proceedings appears in John D. Roop’s book “Christianity vs. War.”
During WWI conscientious objectors (CO’s) were drafted into the military because there was no alternative form of service. Dan West and Everett Fisher were among other Brethren men who were given similar treatment. Dad did not say much about his experiences, but according to Roop’s book some of the CO’s were treated very poorly. There were about 4,000 CO’s and their treatment is discussed in the Brethren Encyclopedia. Suffice it to say that neither the federal government nor the church did a good job of guiding these men. Some were willing to perform relief work but were not permitted to by the government. Dad was imprisoned at Leavenworth, KS, for two years and then given a dishonorable discharge. The Selective Service act in 1940 contained provisions for CO’s during WWII, in part because of the influence of leaders of the Church of the Brethren, the Mennonites, and the Society of Friends. Civilian Public Service (CPS) was a program under civilian direction which allowed CO’s to perform work of national importance. Some 12,000 men were drafted into the program. Most were sent initially to forestry camps, but later some were allowed to transfer to other projects like public health programs and mental hospitals. Some CO’s worked on dairy farms, some became “smokejumpers,” and some became human guinea pigs in nutrition experiments. I was drafted in 1943 and spent 35 months in CPS. I was already familiar with the CPS program because Dad was the director of Camp Wellston in Michigan in 1942. After a few months I transferred to Dayton State Hospital where I spent most of my time working on the hospital farm, driving a tractor and milking cows. It was during this time that I decided to go into the medical field and I took some classes at U. of Dayton. Then I learned about a nutrition experiment at Northwestern U. in Chicago which was looking for another subject. I knew some of the men in the unit and I decided that this would be a good move for me. The project was a study of Pellagra, a Vitamin B deficiency disease, and was under the Dept. of Physiology and the Army Nutrition Lab. During the year we seven subjects were examined inside and out, tested repeatedly, and carefully monitored. Some of us developed mild symptoms of Pellagra, but there were no lasting effects. I did not suffer. My younger brother, Harold, was also drafted into CPS in 1943 and spent his time in Lyndhurst, VA in the National Park Service, Lyons, NJ, at a Veterans Mental Hospital, as a human guinea pig in the U. of Minnesota starvation experiment in Minneapolis, and Gainsville, FL, in a public health project. The starvation experiment has received a lot of publicity and those men really suffered, both physically and psychologically. I think that Harold recovered without any harmful effects. Neither Harold nor I were under any illusion that our CPS work would have any effect on the war, but we wanted to demonstrate that there is another way of serving our country that is constructive. Our oldest son, Theron, (the third generation) did alternative service from 1971 to 1973. He had graduated from U. of Cincinnati Medical School and was doing his internship in South Bend, IN. He started his alternative service in the emergency room of the small hospital in Corbin, KY. He then transferred to the state tuberculosis hospital system, first in Paris, KY, and then to London, KY. He enjoyed his public health work and stayed in that field for eight more years. Our youngest son, Jonathon, was not drafted but is an active member of a peace organization called Footprints For Peace. This is an international organization that sponsors walks and runs in the U.S., Canada, Japan, Australia, Ireland, and England. Jon has taken part in 15 major runs and plans to participate in a walk from London to Geneva starting in April this year to promote the abolishment of nuclear weapons. Dan, Harold’s oldest son, performed his alternative service as an orderly in Wayne Hospital in Greenville, OH. Jacob (Jon’s oldest son) learned about the peace movement from his parents. At age 14 he developed an international perspective through participation in the Children’s International Summer Village program. He attended Earlham College and earned a BA degree in Peace and Global Studies in 2003. He has now joined Peace Brigades International with headquarters in London. This organization places peace activists like Jacob in various countries around the world to accompany local groups and report oppressive activity by government or para-military groups. Jacob will be part of a team stationed in Columbia, South America. Lloyd would be pleased to see that his dedication to peace is being continued by his grandchildren and great grandchildren. Delbert |
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