Grover Cleveland Bergdoll (October 18, 1893 – January 27, 1966) was an early aviator, racing driver and

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

draft dodger, who went to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

to avoid prison.

Biography

He was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

to a wealthy brewing family. He was one of 119 people to train at the

Wright Flying School The Wright Flying School, also known as the Wright School of Aviation, was operated by the Wright Company from 1910 to 1916 and trained 119 individuals to fly Wright airplanes. History Orville Wright began training students on March 19, 1910 in M ...

, and in 1912 he purchased a

Wright Model B The Wright Model B was an early pusher biplane designed by the Wright brothers in the United States in 1910. It was the first of their designs to be built in quantity. Unlike the Model A, it featured a true elevator carried at the tail ra ...

biplane for $5,000. Bergdoll made several public flights from an airfield on family-owned land outside Philadelphia, and was the first person to fly an airplane between Philadelphia and

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

. After 748 flights the plane was placed in storage; it was later rediscovered and restored, and in 1936 it was donated to the Franklin Institute. Bergdoll attempted to qualify for the 1915

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...

and also raced between 1911 and 1916, almost exclusively in his brother Erwin Bergdoll's cars. Although Bergdoll registered for the draft, he skipped a physical and failed to turn in a questionnaire on his fitness for duty. He was declared a deserter in 1918 (As he never enlisted he was actually guilty of evading Article 58 of the Selective Service Act of 1917), eluded police for two years, and was arrested at his home in January 1920. After he was found guilty of desertion at a court-martial at Fort Jay on Governors Island, he was sentenced to five years in prison. Five months later, military authorities allowed Grover to be released under guard to recover a cache of gold he claimed to have buried near Hagerstown, Maryland. During a stop at his Philadelphia home, he escaped with his chauffeur. Despite a nationwide manhunt, the duo managed to cross the border into

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

and sail to Germany, ultimately finding refuge in Eberbach at a hotel owned by Bergdoll's uncle. In January 1921, U.S. sergeants Franz Zimmer and Carl Naef sought to kidnap Bergdoll and bring him to an area of Germany that was occupied by the Allies, so he could be returned to the United States. Along with four German men, they ambushed Bergdoll at the Eberbach train station. Bergdoll managed to escape by vehicle, and a passenger named Lena Rupp was shot in the right hand when Naef opened fire on the fleeing car. All six would-be kidnappers were tried and sentenced to prison terms, although the sergeants were soon released due to efforts by the American government. Another kidnapping attempt was made on August 10, 1923, when Corliss Hooven Griffis of the American Graves Registration Service led a group of four other men in an effort to capture the fugitive. Two men waited in Bergdoll's hotel room in Eberbach to try to seize him, but he managed to shoot both of them, killing one and seriously wounding the other. The four surviving conspirators were seized and sentenced to prison terms. Griffis was widely considered a hero in the United States, and was also released early after a petition effort to free him collected more than 2 million signatures. Bergdoll later moved to Weinsberg, Germany and married a German woman. On two occasions, he made secret trips back to Philadelphia. He arrived in 1929 on the first trip and returned in 1933. The second time, he traveled to the U.S. in 1935 and returned to Germany in 1938. Bergdoll publicly surrendered in May 1939. He was nearly returned to Germany after Representative Forest Harness tried to pass legislation barring the reentry of any draft dodgers who had escaped custody and fled to a foreign country. After another court-martial, he was sentenced to serve the remainder of his original term plus three years. He was imprisoned until 1944. After his release, Bergdoll lived in Virginia. He died in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, Californi ...

, on January 27, 1966, in psychiatric care. Frank C. Williams, the man drafted immediately after Bergdoll by his local draft board, served in World War I as an engineer and survived the conflict. However, the American Legion claimed that the man "drafted in Bergdoll's place" was Russell C. Gross of

, the first man drafted after Bergdoll to die in the war. Gross became a private in Company B of the 328th Infantry Regiment, part of the 82nd Division. He was killed in action on October 24, 1918, during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, and posthumously cited for bravery by Brigadier General

Julian Robert Lindsey Major General Julian Robert Lindsey (March 16, 1871 – June 27, 1948) was a United States Army cavalry officer in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He served in the China Relief Expedition, the Pancho Villa Expedition and commanded a r ...

References

* Roberta Dell: ''The United States against Bergdoll – How the Government Spent Twenty Years and Millions of Dollars to Capture and Punish America's Most Notorious Draft Dodger'', A.S. Barnes: South Brunswick and New York, 1977. * Dirk Langeveld, ''The Artful Dodger: The 20-Year Pursuit of World War I Draft Dodger Grover Cleveland Bergdoll,'' CreateSpace, 2018. * Sebastian Parzer: ''Der amerikanische Fahnenflüchtling Grover Cleveland Bergdoll – Über seinen Aufenthalt in Eberbach berichtete sogar die „New York Times"'', in: Der Odenwald 58 (2011), p. 60-68 (in German). *

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

; January 8, 1920 "Take Draft Evader After 2-Year Chase; Grover Bergdoll, Wealthy Philadelphia German, Defended By Mother with Revolver. House Veritable Arsenal. Bergdoll Said To Have Offered His Services to this country as an Aviator in 1918.

, January 7, 1920 Grover Cleveland Bergdoll, wealthy son of a former brewer and charged with being a draft dodger and deserter from the army, was captured after a two-year chase today while hiding in the palatial residence of his mother on the outskirts of this city. Tonight he is a prisoner on Governors Island, New York, awaiting trial by court-martial. *

; May 26, 1939 "Bergdoll Returns, Is Seized By Army; Grover Cleveland Bergdoll Then And Now. Grover Cleveland Bergdoll, America's most notorious wartime draft dodger, arrived in this country yesterday. He was placed under arrest on a charge of desertion by officers of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

. Bergdoll was seized in the lounge room of ..." *

; January 29, 1966 "Grover Cleveland Bergdoll Dies; Notorious Draft Dodger Was 72; Playboy, Who Fled Fort Jay With Story of a Pot of Gold, Found Haven in Germany.

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, January 28, 1966 Grover Cleveland Bergdoll, the most publicized draft dodger of

died of pneumonia yesterday in the Westbrook Psychiatric Hospital here. He was 72 years old."

External links

Grover Cleveland Bergdoll bibliography
* Th

including correspondence, clippings and legal documents, are available for research use at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
findagrave
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bergdoll 1893 births 1966 deaths American racing drivers Conscription in the United States Draft evaders People from Philadelphia

Biography

References

Further reading

External links