Seventy-five years ago today, December 4, 1939, the Canadian Government announced that U.S. Citizens would be permitted to enlist in the Royal Canadian Air Force. Recruits were required to be of “European descent and resident in Canada.” However, the Canadian government, eager to recruit American aviators, was quite lax on the “residency” requirement. Residency meant only that the applicant must be in Canada at the time he filed his papers.
This, of course, would have been a violation of American law and American neutrality. But even though 9000 Americans eventually enlisted, I’m not aware of a single case of an American being prosecuted for service with the Allies.
The Canadians had even been quietly recruiting in the United States, even though this was clearly a violation of U.S. law. Americans were initially required to pledge his allegiance to the British monarch, which could potentially lead to loss of U.S. citizenship. At some point, however, this was relaxed, and American recruits were required to merely obey RCAF rules and discipline for the duration of the war.
Some Americans had already enlisted. For example, De Peyster Brown, an American pilot who served in the Battle of Britain, had enlisted in the RCAF on September 9, by claiming to be Canadian.
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