Several draft notices, presumably for World War I, were recently sent out in Pennsylvania.
The United States entered World War I in 1917 and introduced the draft as a means of enlisting soldiers.
Well, several thousand draft notices from the Selective Service System reminding young men to register were recently sent out in Pennsylvania.
Some of the letters included recipients born between 1893 and 1897 and have since passed. In some cases the notices were delivered to their children and grandchildren.
One man said he was confused about how to proceed when his grandfather’s Selective Service paperwork showed up.
He wondered, “Do I really have to fill out the form and return it? Maybe the Selective Service can come for a visit and I will take them to Denison Cemetery and introduce them to my grandfather at his grave site.”
A woman in her 80s was a bit perplexed when she got a similar notice addressed to her father. Included in the letter was a strict warning that failure to register could result in imprisonment.
She noticed the birth date on the documents was listed as 1994. Her father died in 1992.
A Selective Service spokesperson has since apologized for any sadness the letters caused and noted the source of the erroneous mailings has been identified as data transfer glitch.
