A Different Kind of War Story: A Conscientious Objector in World War II

The professor emeritus of chemistry tells his own story of service as a Quaker conscientious objector, a draftee into the Civilian Public Service in WWII. Among his assignments, Arnett parachuted into remote areas of the Rockies as a Forest Service smokejumper and helped to transfer 1,200 wild horses on a cargo ship to Poland as aid for reestablishing Polish agriculture. In a recent interview with the Durham Herald-Sun, he said he decided to write about his experiences after noticing scant discussion of conscientious objectors' contributions in books and documentaries about the war.