Twisted Years: A Memoir of an American Soldier in WWI - Paperback

by Christine Keleny (Author), Ellen Bogner (Foreword by), John B. Smith (Author)

In this brief accounting of three twisted years, I have set forth only the outstanding events and dates. No effort has been made to use perfectly correct English, but the story is simply told as from a common soldier to a friend. Many of the dates are not correct, as time has erased from my memory many of the exact dates, but they are within a very few days of being correct. The many incidents described, however, are told just as they occurred, and, if you can read between the lines, you will discover humor, sadness, patriotism, dissertation from principle, love, hate and kindness all interwoven into the lives of young men - boys - many of whom died, many of whom are now fine examples of American manhood, many of whom are now ordinary bums, all the result of those three twisted years.

Author Biography

John Bernhardt Smith, also known as JB or Jack and as a child Johnny, was born in Eau Claire, Wisconsin on September 20, 1897. His mother, Karen Johanesen, emigrated from Norway and his father, John Bernhardt Sr, from Sweden. JB had two brothers and five sisters. His mother died in 1904 and he was raised by his older sisters. His father worked as a carpenter to support the family. After the war JB married Margaret Lemke on September 8, 1920 in Eau Claire. They moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin where he worked for the Internal Revenue Service as head of the accounting division. JB served in the Army Reserves from 1920 to 1940 and retired with the rank of Captain. He retired from the IRS in 1957 and they moved to Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin to be near their only child, Elaine, and her husband, Kenneth Pattow, and their three daughters. JB had an active retirement until his death in 1977. He was Commander of the local WWI Veterans group and active in his church and the Masonic organization. He was chaplain of the local American Legion and in that capacity gave the Memorial Day address in Lake Mills, Wisconsin in 1970, which is included in this book. He was also the last Justice of the Peace in Fort Atkinson.