Thomas Nelson Sr  Does anyone know whether or not Mr Thomas Nelson Sr age  currently residing in Texas formerly of Louisiana served in the military before during or after World War I  Can anyone provide any further biographical information on Mr Nelson  where he was born where he lives now etc  Finally can anyone post links to any articles about Mr Nelson  Any information would be appreciated  Well lets look at what Ancestry says There are  Draft Cards for WWI for a Thomas Nelson of Louisiana  of which fit into the age category There are other bits  pieces of information that can then be found from there providing that is the correct info Have you got any more details  middle name initial date of birth etc to help us so we can help you  Why speculate  It was never mentioned anywhere that he is a WWI veteran  He runs a candy store  However Silas Simmons is a closer candidate based on what he said about loading ammunition during WWI at the shipyards   Why speculate  Because hes in the right age range and if theres a chance he served we sould check it out  Whats this about him running a candy store  Thomas Nelson spent most of his life running a candy store  He doesnt strike me as someone who would have served  He is AfricanAmerican       Doesnt strike you  Keep in mind the draft was in full force at the time it didnt matter what you did     I agree  that kind of speculation is bizarre  If you had the opportunity to meet and talk with him Robert why didnt you just ask him if hed served  What is it about running a candy store that makes someone unlikely to be called up for the draft  Does he have a draft card on file  One would think that if he served the news article would have mentioned it  But I find your statements hypocritical visavis the Silas Simmons comment   Silas Simmons  Who is Silas Simmons  Silas Simmons was born Oct   according to his WWI draft card  Name Silas Joseph Simmons  City Philadelphia   County Philadelphia   State Pennsylvania   BirthPlace Delaware   Birth Date  Oct    Race African   Roll    DraftBoard          httpwwwsptimescomNeighborhoodtimesAsenioramongseniorsshtml  Note During both World War I and World War II he loaded live ammunition for US troops onto ships bound for Europe  He is not on the GRG list because the  census lists him as born in  which would make him only  instead of  as claimed  However its possible the census in this case is incorrect  In any case he was still alive a month ago has a WWI draft card and participated in an activity which was directly related to the war effort  Whether he is a veteran or not I dont know if he was drafted  But considering some veterans on the current list were little more than telephone operators and ROTC students Silass efforts were a tangible contribution to the war  He was also a Negro league ballplayer     This is not a discussion of the relative merits of peoples service  Its merely a question of service  A veteran is someone who served in the armed forces its irrelevant where he or she served and what exactly they did  Do we know whether Mr Simmons loaded ships as a civ