Born in 1895 in Pennsylvania, Ward W. Weller enlisted in the USNRF at Newport, RI in May 1917. He served on a submarine chaser, U.S.S.C. No. 36, from January 1918 to June 1919, first as a seaman and then as a coxswain. S.C. 36 operated in European waters, out of Base 27 (Plymouth, England).

The American World War 1 sub chasers were 110 foot long, gas-powered wooden boats; they were much smaller than the German U-boats they hunted. Sonar had not been invented yet, so the sub chasers, patrolling in 3-boat units, dragged "listening tubes" to search for sounds of the U-boat engines or propellers.