 In April 1917, with a terrible war going on in Europe, the United States decided to enter this conflict against the Germans.Cameron, at the age of 45, took a leave of absence from teaching at Pearl in June 1917 to participate in the war effort.On October 15, 1917, he was commissioned as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army at Fort Des Moines, Iowa, a facility established especially for training black officers in World War I.