Toward the end of WWI, William Falkner attempted to join the U.S. Army, but was rejected because he was too short. Determined to follow in the tradition of his great-grandfather, who served as a colonel in the Confederate Army, he added a "u" to the spelling of his last name. This apparently passed him off as English and he was able to join the Royal Air Force in Canada. When the war ended, he returned to his home in Oxford, Mississippi without seeing combat. Somehow, he was full of action packed stories including injuries that left him in constant pain and a silver plate in his head. Liar, liar?
-Sam
I read that the "u" was just a typo. The printer who printed his first book made a mistake and he just went with it. Perhaps he just thought it made his name sound more distinguished. Or perhaps he was just too lazy to care.
ReplyDeleteI also read that the "u" thing was a typo from his first publication, though I admit my source is wikipedia
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