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Dave Smith[_1_]

On 2018-11-11 6:57 PM, wrote:
>
> Sad 100th anniversary today - although it was 100 years ago last
> Sunday that my paternal grandfather was killed and buried in France
> next to Wilfred Owen.
>

It was a damned shame that Allied forces ordered attacks on Nov. 11,
1918. The truce had been arranged and was to take effect at 11 am on
Nov.11. For some reason, despite the terms and the lines already being
agreed upon, they decided to inflict a crushing victory on the Germans,

My father in law was a Sergeant in the American army during WWI and used
to tell me interesting stories about his experiences. Most of them were
interesting anecdotes, but he used to get choked up telling about
someone on their line being killed just a few minutes before 11 am on
the 11th.

In 2001 my wife and I went on a trip through Europe and ended up on a
battle field trip that starred at the cemetery in Denmark where my
father was buried, down through Germany, Belgium and into France. We
went to the American War Cemetery in the Meuse-Argonne where FIL saw
action. My wife went one way and I went another and were about 200 yds
apart, then went to each other, and right where we met was the grave of
Oscar Sarney, killed Nov. 11, 1918. We could not help but wonder if
that was the guy whose death had had such an impact on her father.