 If not for the intervention of World War One, he would have certainly been selected to represent the USA in the 1916 Olympic Games, which would have taken place in Berlin.Following the outbreak of the war, Flynn shelved his dreams of an Olympic medal and enlisted in the 165th Infantry Regiment in the spring of 1916; he would become a Sergeant.In July 1918 whilst fighting the Germans in France he was shot in his left arm during an act of heroism