World War I
On the afternoon of his graduation from Brown in 1916, Chase, now a sergeant, joined A Battery at Quonset Point, Rhode Island, where it was mobilised for duty on the Mexican Border. The unit remained in the El Paso, Texas, area for a time, but saw no action. While there, Chase passed an examination for commissions in Regular Army. Chase was posted to Fort Leavenworth in January 1917 for a three month course for newly commissioned officers before being commissioned as a second lieutenant in the cavalry.
Chase was assigned to the 3rd Cavalry, then based at Fort Sam Houston. Shortly after the United States declared war on Germany, he was promoted to first lieutenant and posted to the 6th Cavalry on the Mexican frontier.
Chase attended a machine gun course at Fort Sill, after which he was posted to the 11th Machine Gun Battalion, part of the 4th Division, in April 1918. He served on the Western Front with the 4th Division, participating in the Battle of Saint-Mihiel, but came down with jaundice and missed all but the last days of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. He participated in the Occupation of the Rhineland before the 4th Division returned to the United States in July 1919.
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