Joseph Alois Kennel was born in Arth, Switzerland, on January 16, 1890, and emigrated to the United States on April 2, 1911; his parents remained in Switzerland. He lived in Louisville, Kentucky, until 1914, when he moved to Cleveland, Ohio. There, he worked for the Union Paper and Twine Company. He became a naturalized citizen of the United States on December 19, 1916. In 1918, Kennel joined the United States Army, and he arrived in France on August 10, 1918. He served in France and was stationed in Koblenz, Germany, from April-August 1919. After receiving an honorable discharge in August 1919, Kennel worked for the Red Cross in Paris and in Bruyères-sur-Oise, France, while waiting for authorization to return to the United States, made difficult because of his foreign birth. He returned to Cleveland around 1920, and later lived in Lakewood, Ohio, with his wife Victoria. Joseph A. Kennel died in Los Angeles, California, on March 19, 1958.
From the guide to the Joseph Kennel letters, Kennel, Joseph letters, 1919, (William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan)
