World War I
Brown volunteered to serve in the Norton-Harjes Ambulance Corps in early 1917. En route to France aboard the SS La Touraine he met E.E. Cummings. Due to an organizational mix-up, the two spent five weeks together in Paris before assigned to an ambulance unit, during which time they became close friends.
In September 1917 Brown and Cummings were arrested on suspicion of espionage and were imprisoned at the La Ferté-Macé detention camp, Orne, Normandy. Cummings was released in December 1917 after intervention from his father; however, Brown was not released at the same time, and in fact was transferred at that time to a prison in Précigné. Brown was not able to secure his release for three additional months, after which he sailed for New York, where he reunited with Cummings.
Read more about this topic: William Slater Brown
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