A Grandfather I Never Knew
This won't be of interest to anyone but me and my immediate family. (Or future historians who want more data on my roots, you know... because I'll be famous and all.) This was written by my dad. John Foreman at 100 – September 19, 1914 By Frank Foreman on September 19, 2014 John was born on September 19, 1914 in Bellaire, Ohio. Europe had just fallen into Armageddon. In the first six weeks of the Great War France had already suffered a quarter of a million casualties. The Austrian army had been beaten back by little Serbia and was not doing well. But the German war machine had run through Belgium and was pushing deep into France. It had also pushed back the initial Russian army thrust into east Prussia. They were winning victories at every turn. John’s father, Joe, had immigrated to Ohio a decade before to escape this horror. His grandfather had fought in five German wars. Most of Europe knew that a big war was only a matter time. Jo