In WW1, Dutton was hit in the leg by shrapnel. The doctors wanted to amputate, but he refused. Dutton is quoted as saying, "I pleaded hard with one of the doctors, an Australian, and managed to talk him out of the idea of amputation. I was in the hospital for 18 months, but I didn't mind that so much. You see, I'd be able to play hockey again when I returned home."