David Eichel

Born in 1894?; grew up Jewish; brother of Julius; emigrated to the United States with his family in 1899; refused to comply with the Conscription Act; registered June 6, 1917 as a C.O.; arraigned as deserter on Oct. 7; sent to Tombs in NYC on Dec. 8; reached Camp Upton on Dec. 29; refused noncombatant work; transferred to C.O. barracks; interviewed by Board of Inquiry on June 18, 1918 at Upton, July 19, 1918 at Leavenworth, and Jan. 5, 1919 at the Disciplinary Barracks [Ft. Leavenworth]; classed by Board of Inquiry first as 1A, later as 6?; sentenced to 30 [25?] years of hard labor, sentence reduced to 2.5 years; Dates (circa): Tombs Prison, NYC (Dec. 1917) Camp Upton, NY (Dec. 29, 1917 - Aug. 1918) Ft. Leavenworth, KS (July 16-19, 1918) for Board of Inquiry of Inquiry Ft. Riley, KS (July 2, 1918?? - Sept. 27, 1918) Camp Funston, KS (Sept. 28, 1918 - Oct. 1918, Feb. 12, 1919) Ft. Leavenworth, KS (Nov. 10, 1918 - July 6, 1919) Ft. Douglas, UT (July 16, 1919 - April 30, 1920); brother Isaac Eichel was part of Dec. 1918 delegation that visited Secretary of War Baker to plea for release of C.O.s in prison at Ft. Leavenworth; reason for stance = socialist and humanitarian; member of Socialist Party; died in 1956.