Kyler’s Kaiserliche Marine Blog:
Post #9: My Own Connection to World War One
For many of us, our connection to history comes from our family. My own connection to World War One comes from my maternal Great Grandfather George F. Connor. He would serve with the American Expeditionary Forces during the war. Sadly, I do not know much about his service history. My grandfather told me he was a stretcher-bearer. His helmet was passed to me along with some trench made candleholders he fashioned out of empty 37mm Hotchkiss cannon shells. I was told in the past the helmet had the odor of Mustard Gas.
Additionally, my hometown of Evansville, Indiana was the childhood home to Corporal James Bethel Gresham. He was one of the first three American soldiers killed in the war. He would be buried in France, but his remains would be returned to the US to buried in Evansville.
Most of my family is descended from Scottish, Irish, English, and German Ancestry all from before & during the American Revolution. A family member would serve our war of independence, the War of 1812, the US Civil War, and World War 2.
My particular interest in naval history came from the discovery of the battleship Bismarck when I was a child. A classmate’s father was a big supporter of Dr. Ballard and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, so we were able to learn early facts about the discovery. My knowledge of battleships expanded over the years and began to focus on the High Seas Fleet & Grand Fleet. Their naval arms race would leed to the pinnacle of battleships.