The Montréal-born Joseph Pilon was not a young man when he joined the Canadian Expeditionary Force exactly one year to the day before the Great War would come to an end.  He was 31 years of age, well above the average age of soldiers which was less than 20 years old.  A machinist by trade, he did not list a relative as a next of kin, but rather a good friend, a Monsieur Joseph Beaulieu.  Does this provide us with a clue about his family?  Where relations strained and perhaps even severed?  Perhaps they have passed away and he had no siblings or other close relatives?

His training in Canada was short as he sailed within three months for England, arriving on February 16, 1918 and being immediately taken on strength by the 10th Reserve Battalion.  In May he would be assigned to the 22nd Battalion, the Vandoos and by June 20, he was in France with the 22nd.

Two months later, on August 27 or 28, 1918, in the Arras sector of northern France, Joseph was shot in his right arm.  Within days he was back in England and reassigned to the Québec Regiment.  With the end of the war in November, he would return to Canada in January of 1919 and be discharged from the CEF the following month.

Basic information about Joseph Pilon
Important events of Joseph Pilon's military carreer, as recorded in his personnel file
The account of the action in which Joseph was wounded on August 28, 1918
Medical information relating to Joseph Pilon's wounds
Joseph Pilon's ancestral line and his family (sisters & brothers)