I eagerly read down Michelle's list of 1917 volunteers and draftees for World War I from the Tazewell area, but didn't find my father, WILLIAM REESE DODD. Then I remembered his story. He had just graduated with a law degree from Washington & Lee University when the call came to support our country. He reported eagerly to the Tazewell "local exemption board" --- only to be turned down because he was too thin for his six-foot height. He went to the store and bought a big bunch of bananas, and ate them all afternoon and evening. The next morning he boarded a train to an adjoining county, still eating bananas, and in that county his enrollment was accepted without question. Fortunately he was able to return to Virginia safely. Like all World War I veterans, he was very proud of his service, and we flew the American flag proudly on all patiotic holidays. (I still do.) Virginia, in California.