[niteowl77]

He was a muleskinner, and his job was to drag loads of artillery ammunition and supplies across the open barrage, along swept roads and paths, from the supply dumps to the front-line artillery positions.

My dad was supposed to be named after an uncle who was a "wagoner" in a US machine gun company that was hauled by mules. Though he got to France quite late in 1918, this gent was still exposed to gas badly enough to seriously screw up his lungs until the day he died.

Not a great deal of "glory" in all of that... and to add insult to injury, getting gassed was not conducive to hauling back war trophies.

[SERE_DOC]

My grandfather was a conscript in Kiser Wilhelm's army on the other side.

(in order to emigrate he had to serve before leaving.)

Ukrainian by birth, but part of the Astro-Hungarian empire.

A Cossack, by my fathers recollection, (born in mid 20's) His words were "as bad as he treated me, I believe he was a Cossack".