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John Bergen

Date of death:1918
Gender:Male
Race:White
Era:1910s
State:Oklahoma
Support
Anti-War Conscientious Objection
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Biography

John Bergen was a Mennonite conscientious objector from Oklahoma imprisoned during World War I. Court-martialed for refusing military service, he was held at Fort Leavenworth. He died in custody in 1918. (Documented in the Swarthmore College Peace Collection's World War I Conscientious Objectors database.) Archival note: severely beaten by sergeant in Sept. 1918 at Camp Greenleaf for his refusal to set up his tent & clean up after a storm because he considered such work as military service; his jaw was broken & he spent 2 months in hospital; sentenced to Ft. Leavenworth; died in flu epidemic there; …

Case

United States Disciplinary Barracks, Fort Leavenworth
Charges: Disobeying orders; refusal of military service (World War I court-martial of a conscientious objector)
Released: 1918
Sentence: Held at Fort Leavenworth.
Convicted: Yes
Institution State: Kansas