Whakaotihia te rerenga e whai ake nei: I whanau a Kalbfus i Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania ki a Mary Electra Jones o mua me Dr. Joseph Kalbfus, he kaitiaki kararehe mohoao rongonui a motu i mahi hei kaitiaki toa o te kawanatanga o Pennsylvania me te hekeretari whakahaere o te Komihana Game State mo nga tau maha. I haere ia ki Selwyn Hall i Reading, Pennsylvania i mua i tana whakatuunga mai i te kawanatanga o Pennsylvania ki te United States Naval Academy i Annapolis, Maryland. I a ia e mahi ana hei kaitiaki i te Naval Academy, i takaro ia i te whutupaoro me te rangatira o te roopu peera i tana tau tuatahi, a, i whakangungu ia i runga i te moana i nga raumati i runga i te Naval Academy Practice Ship i te 1895, 1896, me te 1897. I te raumati o te tau 1898, i te Pakanga Paniora-Amerika, i mahi ia i runga i te kaipuke pakanga, i kite i te pakarutanga o te Santiago Bay me te Pakanga o Santiago Bay. I muri mai i taua raumati i uru ia ki te poraka o Cuba i runga i te poti poti, i te kaipuke hurihuri, i te kaipuke pupuhi. Whai muri i te haerenga whakangungu whakamutunga i runga i te kaipuke pakanga, i puta ia i te Naval Academy i te 1899 ka tiimata i nga tau e rua e hiahiatia ana mo te mahi moana i mua i te mahi hei kaitiaki kaipuke. I a ia e rere ana ki nga Moutere o Piripi i runga i te kaipuke, i uru ia ki te
Philippine Insurrection i te tau 1900 me te tau 1901 i runga i te kaipuke pupuhi me te kaipuke utanga I whakawhiwhia ia ki tana komihana a te Ensign i te Hurae 27, 1901.