Charles A. Willoughby participant of World War I
Early life and education
Willoughby is often quoted as being born March 8, 1892, in Heidelberg, Germany, as  Adolph Karl Weidenbach, the son of Baron T. Tscheppe-Weidenbach and wife Emma Willoughby Tscheppe-Weidenbach of Baltimore, Maryland. This was disputed by Frank Kluckhohn of The Reporter (New York Journal) in 1952, and there remains uncertainty as to both his birth name and lineage.It is certain, however, that Willoughby emigrated from Germany to the U.S. in 1910, and in October 1910 he enlisted in the U.S. Army, where he served with the 5th Infantry, initially as a private, later rising to the rank of sergeant. He was honorably discharged from the army in 1913.
He then entered Gettysburg College as a senior in 1913 based on his attestations of three years of attendance at the University of Heidelberg and the Sorbonne in Paris before he emigrated to the United States. Although he graduated with a B.A. in 1914, it is disputed whether or not he actually did attend either European university.After graduation from Gettysburg College, Willoughby was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Officers' Volunteer Reserve Corps of the U.S. Army in 1914. He spent three years teaching German and military studies (while serving as a reserve U.S. Army officer) at various prep-schools in the United States. In August 1916, he vacated his position in the reserve to accept a Regular Army commission as a second lieutenant under the name Adolph Charles Weidenbach. He rose to Captain and served in World War I in the American Expeditionary Force.He changed his name at some point between 1910 and 1930 to Charles Andrew Willoughby (a loose translation of Weidenbach, the German for "willow brook"). During his early life, he became fluent in English, Spanish, German, French, and later, Japanese.World War I
Using the name Adolf Charles Weidenbach, Willoughby was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Regular Army on 27 November 1916, and promoted to first lieutenant on the same day. He joined the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) in June 1917 and was promoted to captain (permanent) on 30 June 1917, serving initially with the 16th Infantry Regiment (United States), First Division. He later transferred to the U.S. Army Air Corps, where he was trained as a pilot by the French military.Post World War I
After the war, Captain Willoughby/Weidenbach joined the 24th Infantry in New Mexico in 1919. He spent two years at his post before being posted to San Juan, Puerto Rico. He became involved in military intelligence while in San Juan. While serving in Puerto Rico he married Juana Manuela Rodríguez Umpierre who bore him a daughter, Olga. He had served as a Military Attaché in Ecuador. He received the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus from Benito Mussolini's Fascist Italian government. In the 1920s Willoughby was an admirer of Spanish General and future dictator Francisco Franco, calling him the "second greatest general in the world". He met him in Morocco and then delivered a speech to him at a lunch in Madrid.  He was toasted by the Secretary General of the Falangist Party.In 1929, Willoughby was assigned to Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas as a student and in 1931 as an instructor. In 1936, Major Willoughby was promoted to lieutenant colonel.