Early Life
David Barrett was born in Central City, Colorado, in 1892. At age 23, he graduated from the University of Colorado, and proceeded to teach high school English for the next two years. At the outbreak of the First World War, Barrett immediately enlisted, only to remained stationed stateside as a second lieutenant in Utah for the duration of the war.
Upon the war's conclusion, Barrett chose to make the military a career and was rewarded with a position on a troopship to join the American expedition to Siberia in 1920. Barrett never made it to Siberia. Instead, his ship was diverted to the Philippines, where he served for four years. It was in the Philippines that Barrett learned of an army program to train officers in various foreign languages. Barrett signed up for a chance to travel to Japan to learn its language, but found all vacancies filled. He was then directed to the next alternative and was sent to Beijing.
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