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Personalities > Ed "Strangler" Lewis > Biography >  Facts within
a Myth  by Steve Yohe   World War I  On April 6, 1917, President
Woodrow Wilson ended his policies of isolationism and the U.S
congress declared war on Germany. The government quickly passed
the Selective Service Act, which required all males between the
ages of 21 and 30 to register for military service. This
affected most of the major wrestlers in 1917, including Lewis
and Stecher, but none more than the new champion Earl Caddock.
The world champion Caddock was a true patriot, who did
everything he could to join up. In May 1917, he joined a
civilian training camp, similar to basic training, to prepare
himself for enlistment. On Aug. 4, Caddock appeared before a
military draft examination board at Atlantic, Iowa. Three
physicians determined that he was unfit for military service due
to an infection caused by previous tonsil surgery. He also
needed dental work.  The Army had given him an out