During World War I, due to the ill health of his wife, he obtained a position in the Red Cross Headquarters in Washington, D.C. where he was quickly made director of the Bureau of Allied Prisoners' Relief. In the spring of 1918, after his wife's health recovered sufficiently for him to serve, he obtained a commission in the Aviation Division of the U.S. Navy for service in France as an Intelligence officer. After several months of preparation at Annapolis, he went to France in May 1918 and served there until the armistice.