 Serving on the Western Front, he was badly injured, taken prisoner by Germany in 1917, and not repatriated until after the war.When he finally returned home he earned a bachelor's degree in geology from the University of British Columbia and a master's degree in science and a Ph.D. in geology, both from Yale University.In 1927 as assistant professor at Washington University in St. Louis of geology, he was involved in geological explorations, detailed geographical mapping, and mineral deposit explorations with the Geological Survey of Canada.