James Fornek

PRIVATE JAMES FORNEK of 1269 Atlantic Avenue, Camden NJ, died in France on October 6, 1918. The circumstance of his death are in dispute. The book Camden County in the Great War states that he died of pneumonia, while another book, Soldiers of the Great War Volume 2 has him listed as died of wounds.

James Fornek appears to have been the child of Ignatius and Mary Formanek. The couple had come to America from a Polish-speaking part of Germany in 1884 and 1886 respectively, and married here around 1887. Daughter Josephine was born in March of 1888. She was followed by Mary, John, Mollie, and Albert. When the Census was taken in 1900 the family was living at 1133 Louis Street in Camden, a neighborhood where many of Camden's first Polish immigrants resided.

Young James Formanek appears to have lied about his age to get into the Army. Older brother John F. had served in the Navy in the 1900s and early 1910s, and went overseas with the 29th Infantry Division, and another brother, Joseph, had also registered for the draft. Calling himself James Fornek, he entered service on May 22, 1918, and was sent to Camp Crane at Allentown PA, where he was assigned to Evacuation Hospital Number 11. 

Private James Fornek was brought home and eventually buried at Calvary Cemetery in Delaware Township (present-day Cherry Hill) NJ. Camden County in the Great War states that he was the son of Mrs. Mary Fornek. He was survived by his mother and brothers. The Formanek family was still in Camden, in the 900 block of Tulip Street, as late as 1947, operating a roofing busioness as Formanek & Sons. A nephew, Alfred J. Formanek, served in the Air Corps during World War II, was taken prisoner when his bomber went down in Europe, and came home at war's end.