On this day in 1916 William Edward Maracle, a wood turner, signed up in Deseronto. He was born in Tyendinaga on November 19th, 1870, the son of James Maracle and Rachel (née Brant), who were both Mohawks. He married Julia Ann Williams, who died on April 10th, 1912 of tuberculosis. They had three sons and a daughter and the eldest two, Philip and Solomon, had already enlisted.
Eddie joined the 155th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force with the regimental number 637122. He was five feet seven inches tall, with a dark complexion, brown eyes and black hair.
His service record shows that Maracle went absent without leave before his unit left Canada. He was discharged on his return as being medically unfit (he was 46 years old, considered to be overage).
Eddie tried to enlist again, on December 15th, 1916 in Kingston, but was rejected as medically unfit. In 1921 he was living with a new wife, Mary, in Tyendinaga.