Biography
Hjalmaer Johnson was a conscientious objector from Minnesota imprisoned during World War I. Court-martialed for refusing military service, he was held at Fort Leavenworth. Sentenced to 25 years in prison - reduced to 3 years. (Documented in the Swarthmore College Peace Collection's World War I Conscientious Objectors database.) Archival note: registered for the draft on June 5, 1917 but not as a CO; was Finnish; was interviewed by the Special Bd. on charge of disobedience of orders at the Disciplinary Barracks on Jan. 5, 1919; sentenced to 25 years in prison - reduced to 3 years; was not a U.S. citizen; …
Custody review: Anne Yoder's entry identifies this Finnish noncitizen from Duluth, interviewed at Fort Leavenworth on January 5, 1919, as a member of the group released in January 1919. The release is recorded at month precision. The draft-registration year is not treated as a prison admission date.
Source: Anne M. Yoder, World War I conscientious-objector database, Hjalmaer Johnson entry (row 1019 in the audit snapshot), citing the disciplinary-barracks survey and New York Times, January 23, 1919.