Draft Deferments

The experimental unit at the refinery served two purposes I think. The ostensible (and certainly a real) reason was to develop a process for producing toluene, which was needed for the war effort. This was done early on in the time I spent in Wilmington. Later on the work was carried out for processes to make high octane gasoline for aircraft.

However a longer range and perhaps more important objective as far as the Shell organization was concerned (this is my opinion in retrospect) was to provide training for a group of young engineers who would be available for more significant engineering activities once the was was over. Both the ostensible objective and the longer range were in large measure achieved. By using the group of young engineers on these projects there was a good possibility that a substantial fraction would be draft-deferred and would still be available when the war was over.

The processes were developed and a considerable number of young engineers who arrived to work at Wilmington did escape the draft. Including me. I was repeatedly classified One-A by the local board in Fort Dodge, the company would appeal the classification and I would be deferred for another six months.

I kept the draft notices and I have them somewhere — there must be a couple of dozen of them. One time I had to appear up in Los Angeles for a pre-induction physical exam. At the end of the war I had received a second notice to have a pre-induction physical, then I got a notice from the draft board to ignore the notice to appear. That was the last I ever heard from the board.