George William Maddox entered the U.S. Army on 27 May 1918 and served in France. The family account places him with First Army, I Corps, near St. Mihiel. It reports that German machine-gun fire wounded his right arm and left leg on 14 September 1918; after he lay unfound for two or three days, an Army field hospital amputated his left leg above the knee. He received the Purple Heart, used an artificial leg, and was discharged on 12 September 1919.
George's younger brother Harry Odell Maddox also served in combat during World War I. The supplement says Harry returned without injury, never married, and later worked as a farmer and in the oil fields. It notes that the family retained George's damaged discharge and Purple Heart, along with photographs of both brothers in uniform.