Dan Deforge signature

On this day in 1915, Dan DeForge enlisted at Camp Hughes in Manitoba. He and his twin brother, Charles, were born in Deseronto on August 2nd, 1896, sons of Frederick DeForge and Margaret (née McMahon).

When he signed up, DeForge was five feet four inches tall, with a medium complexion, blue eyes and brown hair. He joined the 34th Fort Garry Horse with the regimental number 476302. His service record shows that he was transferred to the 27th Battalion, joining them in France on October 14th, 1916. He was admitted to hospital on four occasions with infections of one kind or another, including a severe bout of influenza in February 1919. He left England for Canada on May 21st, 1919 and was demobilized in Winnipeg on June 1st.

On July 23rd 1921 he married Jessie Mae Stevenson in Sault Ste. Marie, where he was working as a dispenser. In 1930 the couple and their children were in Detroit, where DeForge was working as a candy salesman. They were still in Detroit in 1940, with Deforge a salesman for motion picture equipment. He died in Florida on October 5th, 1985.