Uncle Jack in World War 1: Was He Injured?

Was Orville P. “Jack” Bonn (1896-1985) injured during World War I or anytime during his three years of military service?  As discussed in three previous posts, Bonn served in the U.S. Army Air Service 1917-1920.^[1]See here, here, and here.

Unfortunately, I have far less information related to this question than the question of Uncle Jack’s flying status.  Let’s review.

On the one hand, Jack’s honorable discharge certificate dated 11 March 2020 states the following:^[2]Orville P. Bonn, Honorable Discharge from U.S. Army, 1920, Carlstrom Field, Florida; original certificate inherited by Steven Jonnes from his mother Beverly Bonn Jonnes, Bonn’s niece, 2019; … Continue reading

• Wounds received in service:  None
• Physical condition when discharged: Good

That does not exactly match Jack’s 1937 newspaper interview in which he claims he was shot down while over the front lines and lay unconscious in a hospital for four days with a broken neck!^[3]“Author After Years of Death Defying is Sojourning Here,” unknown Tampa Bay area newspaper, 1937 (hand-written in margin), newspaper clipping in Orville P. Bonn Scrapbook; privately held by … Continue reading  I don’t believe that for a second.

In addition, none of Jack’s surviving photographs from 1917-1920 shows anything medical.  No images of Jack being wounded or bandaged.  No hospitals, no doctors, no nurses.

Only three months after leaving the Army, Orville P. Bonn jumped out of an airplane in an experimental parachute, embarking on a short career as a barnstormer in a flying circus.  Whatever injuries he had, they were not so detrimental that he couldn’t engage in something as physically challenging as parachuting from a biplane and doing so repeatedly over several summers.

On the other hand, the family legend is that Uncle Jack incurred damage to his eyes from engine oil during a plane crash.

These wooden boxes reportedly were fashioned by Jack Bonn from the propeller of his crashed airplane.  They belong to Jack’s nephew David Bonn.  David says,

“These two wooden boxes have been around me my whole life.  I was told that they were made from the propeller off the plane (Jack) was shot down in … and spent months in a French hospital.  I have always wondered about the letters carved in these boxes.  Looks like GP in one and BF in the other.”^[4]David Bonn to Steven Jonnes, email, 27 December 2023

David and I have wracked our brains trying to come up with an explanation for the GP and BF initials on the boxes.  They don’t seem to be associated with anyone in the family, military posts, or biplane manufacturers.  This remains a mystery.  (I suppose GP could be General Pershing, and BF could be Brig. Gen. Benjamin Foulois, who was chief of the Air Service in 1917-1918.  Just a thought.)

A third box was recently discovered at the Sharlot Hall Museum, Prescott, Arizona.  This one looks even more like it was fashioned from an old propeller.

In addition to the 1937 newspaper clipping referenced above, Uncle Jack spoke of his war injuries in only one other news article.  Here are three separate quotes from a clipping that probably dates to the early 1930s while living near Ojai, Ventura, California.  Given the reference to The Ravens, which came out in 1931, it had to have been published after that.

First is an explanation of how Jack wrote his novel The Ravens:

“Bonn pecked it out on an old French typewriter while confined to a hospital in France, his eyesight gone, his neck broken.  One or two years before he had been shot down in flames by a German plane.”^[5]“Found Out…,” unnamed newspaper, incomplete title, undated but after 1931; newspaper clipping in Orville P. Bonn Scrapbook; privately held by Steven Jonnes, Ashburn, Virginia, 2019.

A separate paragraph explained how Jack got through law school despite his vision problem.

“With the war ended for him, the sightless Bonn wanted to be an attorney.  But his finances shrieked ‘No!’ at him.  So he hit on an idea.  He would be a professional parachute jumper.  After a few weeks on his new job, he was making so much money that he was able to put two of his pals through University of Minnesota Law School, as well as himself.  Bonn couldn’t see well enough to read, but by holding ‘mock court’ in their room each night, he and his two companions waded through law school with flying colors.”^[6]Ibid.

And another quote:

“You may not believe it, but (Jack has) never read a book in his life – except his own, of course.  The reason (is) he lost his eyesight during the World war and even now he has regained only about 15 per cent of it.”^[7]Ibid.

In the margin, Jack hand wrote in pencil, “I just can’t use my eyes for …”^[8]Ibid.  The remainder of the thought is cut off, but I assume he meant to place a time limit on his ability to read or write.

Here’s this scene from France in Jack’s photo album.  If Uncle Jack did survive an airplane crash, maybe this is it, but there’s no way to tell.

Most significantly, the U.S. government authorized disability payments to Orville P. Bonn.  A notification from the U.S. Treasury Department, dated 21 September 1920, advised that $8 a month would go to Orville P. Bonn for a partial disability received from “injury incurred in the line of duty while employed in the active service.”^[9]Orville P. Bonn, Honorable Discharge, U.S. Army, 1920, Carlstrom Field, Florida.  I take this last statement to mean that the injury could have occurred anytime during Jack’s three years of service, not necessarily while in theatre.

The notice does not state why or how Orville P. Bonn was injured.  And, other than deeming the disability partial, the notice does not provide the original percentage of disability.

Over 40 years later, though, Uncle Jack succeeded in increasing his disability compensation percentage from 83% to 100%.  This is documented in a 1965 letter from the Minnesota Department of Veteran’s Affairs, shown below.^[10]Al G. Loehr, Minnesota Department of Veteran’s Affairs, (St. Paul, Minnesota) to Truman Jordahl, business letter, 31 August 1965; privately held by Steven Jonnes, Ashburn, Virginia, 2019.  I also have the original Increased Disability Compensation form which granted him 100% individual unemployability.^[11]“Increased Disability Compensation,” VA Form 21-6754, unnamed, undated, likely detached from other pages; privately held by Steven Jonnes, Ashburn, Virginia, 2019.

I am surprised that Jack was considered fully disabled.  Even 83% surprises me.  He was driving a jeep and trailer for decades, so one would think he had to prove some degree of visual competence to obtain a driver’s license – but maybe not.

There are family memories of a dispute between Jack and his younger brother Bert Bonn (1902-1964), my grandfather.  At some point, probably 1963, Jack asked Bert to help him with his disability application.  The recollection is that applicants needed a “sponsor” of some sort.  Bert refused to sign.  So Jack ended up imposing on his brother-in-law Art Axness.  According to David Bonn, Art regretted signing it because he felt Jack had taken advantage of him.^[12]David Bonn, telephone conversation with author, 17 January 2024.

Jack may be referring to this incident in a letter written just after winning his disability appeal.

“A couple years ago when my brother, Bert, informed me that I would have to assume some of the responsibility of caring for our sister, Madeline, … we discussed the possibility of a higher V.A. rating.”^[13]Jack Bonn (Montevideo, Minnesota) to Truman Jordahl, letter, 3 September 1965; privately held by Steven Jonnes, Ashburn, Virginia, 2019.

My mother always characterized her father as the reliable brother.  Bert Bonn remained in Montevideo, their hometown, and became a banker and respected community leader.  His sisters relied on him for help and advice.  He was essentially the leader of the family after the death of their parents in the late 1930s.  Jack, on the other hand, had no employment, lived in a trailer in California and sometimes Mexico, and wandered in and out of their lives.  As a values-driven person, Bert was annoyed because he thought Jack should have been employed and did not appreciate him living off government welfare.  This is echoed by a report that Bert told his sister Bea Clayton (1904-1976) that Jack was a “bum.”^[14]Bonn Clayton, telephone conversation with author, 13 January 2024.

To summarize, Uncle Jack’s injury must be real.  Otherwise, why would the government authorize disability payments immediately after his service ended and continue to do so the rest of his life?  Medical examinations by government physicians were required to demonstrate disability – even in 1920.  According to a letter from the Veteran’s Administration, Jack missed an examination appointment while living in Mexico during the winter of 1964-1965 and was asked to reschedule.^[15]Veteran’s Administration (Ft. Snelling, St. Paul, Minnesota) to Mr. Orville P. Bonn, letter, 25 January 1965; privately held by Steven Jonnes, Ashburn, Virginia, 2019.  One can only assume that the claim of no wounds on Jack’s honorable discharge certificate is an error; maybe the left hand didn’t know what the right hand was doing, a not so rare occurrence in large bureaucracies.

Second, given the many references to his eyesight, I believe the injury was related to his eyes and that hot engine oil probably was the cause.

But, when or where or how Orville P. Bonn was injured remain open questions.  We don’t know whether it occurred in a plane crash, from working on an engine, or in some other manner.  I’m not discounting the possibility that Jack crashed in an airplane.  What I don’t buy is that he was ever shot down.  He could have been in an airplane that crashed; he may not even have been the pilot.  Without his military personnel file, we may never know for sure.

I will continue my research.  The correspondence related to Jack’s efforts in 1963-1965 to increase his disability percentage shows that the American Legion and Veteran’s Administration were both involved.  Documents related to Orville P. Bonn may be waiting to be discovered in one of those places.

Next: The Italian Connection