On this day in 1918, 16-year-old Walt Disney enlisted in the Red Cross Ambulance Corps. A very patriotic citizen, Walt wanted to join the military, but he was too young. The military would not take 16 year olds. He had heard about a Red Cross unit that would take 17 year olds, and he knew that was for him. After his mother signed his passport application, he committed a little forgery, changing the birth year from 1901 to 1900, and he was thus able to get into the Red Cross, along with a friend from school. In 1918, Germany signed an armistice, however, the Red Cross Ambulance Corps still needed more drivers to help with post-war operations in France. Walt arrived in France and was put to work making deliveries, driving ambulances or chauffeuring important officers. By September of 1919, the Ambulance Corps had finished its work and Walt returned home, having seen the world.
