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116 Chapter Fifteen PUBLIC DEBATE A number of individuals wrote only because they were outraged by the apparent favoritism Lew Ayres received if he was allowed to transfer. The American Legion took a particularly aggressive stand against this issue , and even wrote an official letter to General Hershey protesting any reclassification of Lew. They were against allowing a civilian to request their assignment of duty, writing: “We object strenuously to allow any selectee to pick his desired branch of service; the man who volunteers and enlists is the only man who has a right to select any certain branch of duty.”1 The letter was wired to General Hershey, but it was A. S. Imirie, acting chief of the camp operations division, who sent the official response, stating: “For your information it might be pointed out that neither a local board of the Selective Service System nor anyone else can specify the branch or non-combatant service to which a man may be assigned. They can only recommended, but such recommendation is not in any manner binding on the Army. The non-combatant group includes several branches of the service other than the Medical Corps.”2 Although the draft board could not officially guarantee a position in the medical corps, it was becoming apparent that Lew was going to be allowed into service as a noncombat medic. While he had been in camp, doing his part as first aid officer, the administration of his file was left in the control of his friend and manager, Jimmy Dugan. Dugan contacted a friend of Lew’s at the Red Cross—the same Dr. Elmer Belt who had spoken on his behalf to the press and provided written references to the government—who knew Dr. Albert McEvers of the Army Medical Evocations Hospital #1973. Dr. Belt wrote to McEvers that Lew “is very well educated and has the right attitude toward medicine, as you have doubtlessly seen from his numerous pictures depicting the experiences of Dr. Kildare. While in Beverly Hills, he was very useful to the Red Cross as a puBLIC deBAte 117 teacher, having taught many groups in the first section of the Red Cross work.”3 On April 10, 1942, Dr. McEvers wrote a letter stating that “if Mr. Ayres makes application for enlistment in ERC, his assignment to this unit is approved by this headquarters. Vacancies exist in this unit.”4 That same day, Lew responded with a telegram to the selective service director: “In reference to my recent request for reclassification, may I most respectfully suggest that the medical corps alone is the only branch of the service which could be commensurate with my ideas of conscientious approval. Please believe that I state this preference not only as a desire to avoid any possibility of future friction between us, but because I earnestly believe that in the alleviation of human suffering, I can be of greatest value.”5 Soon after Imirie’s telegram to the American Legion dismissing any claims that Lew was dictating his military assignment, J. O. Donovan, Director of the California Selective Service, wrote in Lew’s reclassification letter: We previously advised you that this registrant has made a request for assignment to a medical unit. He has been advised that the request of this assignment is a question for the Army authorities to decide after he arrives at the Army reception Center. The commanding General, Ninth Corps Area, advises us that if Ayres is qualified, he may request assignment to a medical unit, in the same manner as any other registrant would be permitted such assignment if he were properly qualified.6 At the Oregon camp, Lew received a call from a draft board representative , who asked, “Didn’t you say if you could be in the medics you would go? Well, if that’s true, will you take our word for it that you will go into the medics although we cannot write it out?” Lew assented and asked them to begin the process.7 He learned of the decision less than three weeks after he had become known as a conscientious objector, and on May 5, Lew’s name was sent to the draft board for official reclassification approval. But just two days later, before the request had been received, an “unofficial ” letter written by Paul Comly French circulated from the war department, claiming that “there seems to have been a considerable amount of negotiation behind the scenes with reference to this...

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