I don't have my books at hand, but I believe O'Connor was in the Navy either during WWI and/or shortly thereafter. There is a chapter from one of his short stories in his last book which drew from his naval experience. He also mentioned his naval service in another book or two.
O'Connor was a bit old for WWII. Seems like I remember him writing that Outdoor Life sent him to BC as they thought the story would appeal to those away from home and fighting overseas. I would strongly recommend getting ahold of his last book which was published shortly after his death. I have a copy at home and believe it is titled "The Last Book" appropriately enough. This contains a lot of great stuff including a lot of "no holds barred" O'Connor where he didn't sugarcoat his views on anything.
I still love to read both O'Connor's and Keith's writings. I have always regretted never meeting either one of them. I always pictured Keith as a very outgoing friendly type, and O'Connor more of a better educated loner short.
