My Second Year of the War

Frederick Palmer was born on January 29, 1873, in Pleasantville, Pennsylvania, to Amos F. Palmer. He studied at Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania, and in 1896, he married Elsie M. Wither. His journalism career began when the New York Press appointed him as their correspondent in London in 1895, setting the stage for decades of international reporting. Palmer became a war correspondent in 1897, covering the Greco-Turkish War, and soon reported from major global events including the Klondike gold rush and the Philippine American War. He was sent to China during the Boxer Rebellion and to South Africa for the Boer War. Later, he reported on the Russo-Japanese War from Manchuria and the Balkan War of 1912. While covering the Tampico Affair in 1914, he was arrested in Mexico City. During World War I, General John Pershing selected Palmer to oversee press credentials for the American Expeditionary Force, a role in which he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal. Palmer wrote over thirty books between the wars, including Our Greatest Battle. His work blended firsthand observation with narrative skill, leaving a lasting record of military and political conflicts. He died on September 2, 1958.