Are there any WWII historians here at DU? I have a question about my late uncle's deployment to Persia in 1940 when he

[CTyankee]

graduated from West Point. I never understood why and have lost all contact with any of his family.

[bucolic_frolic]

1. Google AI:

Based on historical military records, no West Point graduates were deployed to Persia (Iran) in 1940. This is because the United States did not have a military mission or significant presence in the country at that time
.
Here's a breakdown of the historical context:

The US wasn't in Persia in 1940. It wasn't until September 1941—after the joint British and Soviet invasion of Iran—that the U.S. began its involvement there. The initial U.S. military mission was established to help secure a supply route, the Persian Corridor, for Lend-Lease aid to the Soviet Union.
Graduates' first assignments. Graduates of West Point's Class of 1940 were commissioned as second lieutenants and entered the Army on June 11, 1940. While the world was on the brink of war, these new officers were assigned to various domestic and overseas posts, not Persia.
Later deployments to Persia. By mid-1943, as the need to supply the Soviet Union became more urgent, American involvement in the Persian Corridor increased, and 30,000 U.S. transportation soldiers were stationed in Iran. It is likely that some West Point graduates from the 1940 class and other years would have served in Iran during this later period, but not in 1940.

[CTyankee]

3. Thanks. I do remember he made a disparaging remark about Persia that my mother once told me.

It's funny because my uncle, once the war was over, retired and taught high school math. At the time I was growing up in Texas he was the lone "liberal" in the family. Everybody else had gone Republican. He was super smart at math and my grandmother inquired about West Point because there was no money for any college tuition.

I do have old photos of him in his uniform. I wish I had kept in touch with his family but he was liberal and Texas was going republican, except for Lyndon Johnson and Lady Bird.

It figures. The smartest guy in the family and he became a Democrat as Texas was slowly getting more republican.

[bucolic_frolic]

5. One thing I've learned from families, and myself as I age

Specific Years can mean plus or minus a year, or two, or three. Decades after an event 1943 may seem like 1940.

This was even worse in census records in the 1800s. The birth date of the participants changed every census! They'd be 42 in 1860 but 46 in 1870 and so forth. It's not that they were always lying about their age. It was also that they only saw their birthdate a few times in life. Maybe there was a birth certificate, or maybe it was written in grandma's Bible in another household many miles away. My g-g grandfather of mine had this problem. I go by his gravestone, but during life it varied by 8 years. When he was very old he aged more slowly - in years anyway.

[Wounded Bear]

2. There was an active supply line through Persia (Iran) to the USSR...

It was one of several routes to send aid to the Soviets throughout WWII.

It was mainly based on a British/Persian relationship, but given the amount of US material sent, it would make sense for US advisors/trainers be present.

[CTyankee]

4. I wonder if he had something to do with that.