Editing Everett Dirksen (section)

==Military service==
At the start of [[World War I]], the Dirksens came under local scrutiny for their German heritage. Dirksen's mother refused to take down a living room photo of [[Wilhelm II, German Emperor|Kaiser Wilhelm II]] as demanded by a self-appointed Pekin "loyalty commission" on the grounds that "it's a free country." Benjamin Dirksen was medically unfit for military service and Thomas was married. It fell to Everett to demonstrate the family's patriotism by serving in uniform.{{sfn|''The Education of a Senator''|page=22}} He dropped out of college to enlist in the [[United States Army]].{{sfn|''The Education of a Senator''|pages=22, 23}}

On January 4, 1917, his twenty-first birthday, Dirksen joined the United States Army.{{sfn|''The Education of a Senator''|page=23}} Three months later, the [[American entry into World War I|United States entered World War I]]. He completed his initial training in field artillery at [[Camp Custer]], [[Michigan]], performed duty with his unit at [[Fort Jackson (South Carolina)|Camp Jackson]], [[South Carolina]], and attained the rank of sergeant.{{sfn|''The Education of a Senator''|pages=23, 27}} He was deployed to France in 1918 and attended artillery school and [[Officer Candidate School (United States Army)|officer training]] at [[Saumur]].{{sfn|''Dirksen: Portrait of a Public Man''|page=30}} He was commissioned as a [[Second lieutenant#United States|second lieutenant]] and assigned to the 328th Field Artillery Regiment, a unit of the [[85th Infantry Division (United States)|85th Division]].{{sfn|''Dirksen: Portrait of a Public Man''|page=30}}{{sfn|''Illinois Blue Book'' (1945)|page=121}}  Dirksen was trained as an aerial observer and conducted [[target acquisition]] and [[Bomb damage assessment|assessment of field artillery bombardments]] in the [[Saint-Mihiel]] sector as a member of the 328th Field Artillery's 13th and 19th [[History of military ballooning#World War I|Balloon Companies]].{{sfn|''Illinois Blue Book'' (1945)|page=121}}{{sfn|''Current Biography''|page=228}} He later performed the same duty for the 69th Balloon Company, a unit of the [[IV Corps (United States)|IV Corps]].{{sfn|''Current Biography''|page=228}} He subsequently served in the intelligence staff section (G-2) of the IV Corps headquarters.{{sfn|''Current Biography''|page=228}} Dirksen performed [[Allied occupation of the Rhineland|post-war occupation]] duty with IV Corps in Germany until mid-1919.{{sfn|''Current Biography''|page=228}} Dirksen declined an opportunity to remain with the Army of Occupation (extended due to his fluent German), received his discharge, and returned to Pekin.{{sfn|''The Honorable Mr. Marigold''|page=40}}