Of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, the guns fell silent… And we remember.
Recording from the Imperial War Museum.
Words that bring a chill to anyone who studies history… 9,000,000 overall war dead, 21,000,000 wounded, 117,000 Americans dead and 5,700,000 civilians estimated dead…
At 5 a.m. that morning, November 11th, 1918, Germany, out of manpower and supplies and faced with imminent invasion, signed an armistice agreement with the Allies in a railroad car outside Compiégne, France. The decision was made to hold the notification of the signing until 1100 to provide the symmetry that we know today.
A little history…
It all started on June 28, 1914, when Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian empire, was shot to death with his wife by Bosnian Serb Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo, Bosnia.
It led to trench warfare, biowarfare, with the gassing of troops on both sides, and battles across Europe and the Mediterranean, including the infamous Battle of Gallipoli, searing that name for every in the history of Australia and New Zealand, HERE.
Germany, France, Britain, and other countries lost pretty much an entire generation of young men, and scars from WWI still mar the landscape in Europe. Supposedly the war to end all wars, sadly became merely a prelude to WWII, around 20 years later.
My dad, born in 1896, served in WWI as a rifle instructor at Camp Beauregard in Louisiana, because he was an expert with rifle prior to joining the Army. He also suffered from Influenza during the time, and that may have contributed to his early death in 1959.
The first unknowns were selected from among the British, French, and American war dead.
Following the custom inaugurated by other allied countries in World War I the Congress on March 4, 1921, approved a Resolution providing for the burial in Arlington National Cemetery Memorial Amphitheater on Armistice Day 1921 of an unknown and unidentified American soldier of World War I. The Secretary of War delegated to the Quartermaster Corps the duty of selecting the Unknown Soldier and accordingly the Quartermaster General directed the Chief, American Graves Registration Service in Europe to select from among the burials of America’s Unknown Dead the bodies of four who fell in the combat area in order that one from among them could be anonymously designated as the one for burial in accordance with the provisions of the Resolution. Four bodies of Unknown Soldiers were selected, one from each of the following cemeteries Aisne-Marne, Meuse-Argonne, Somme and St. Mihiel–and brought to Chalons where they were placed in the Hotel de Ville. The fact that the bodies selected were those of Americans was determined by the location of place of death, original burial and uniforms. The utmost care was taken to see that there was no evidence of identification on the bodies selected and no indication that their identity could ever be established.
After the four bodies were arranged in the Hotel de Ville, the next step was the matter of selecting the one from among them to represent all the Unknown American Dead. This ceremony though simple was most impressive. In view of his outstanding service, Sergeant Edward Younger, on duty with the American Forces in Germany, was given the honor of making the final selection. On Monday morning, October 24, 1921, at 10 :00 A.M. in the presence of The Quartermaster General, the Commanding General of the American Forces in Germany, the Mayor of Chalons-sur-Marne, high officers of the French Army, distinguished French citizens and eminent American and French civilians the selection was made. While a French military band played an appropriate air, Sergeant Younger slowly entered the room where the four caskets were placed. Passing between two lines formed by the officials he silently advanced to the caskets, circled them three times and placed a spray of white roses on the third casket from the left. He then faced the body, stood at attention, and saluted. He was immediately followed by officers of the French Army who saluted in the name of the French people.
The rest of that story is HERE.
TODAY is the day to thank those veterans, and say a prayer for those currently serving in the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard. To my fellow veterans, I would propose the toast, “Absent Comrades.”
And to the families- No one says thank you for your sacrifice. So let me say thank you to all of the significant others that hold the fort down while we go on long deployments. Thank you for putting up with all the moves. Thanks to all of the dependents who step up and do the extra chores around the house. When the veteran is deployed the budget has to be stretched. The significant other becomes the banker. Thanks to all of the families that hope for only good news. Thank you families for your service.
And to my shipmates in the P-3 all those years, and those onstation today, and my brothers and sisters from the other services… We did our jobs! And too many of us didn’t come home. But today is for us, those who survived. We remember those who did not survive.
Sadly, we still are losing 20+ veterans a day to suicide. Reach out! You might be the one person that saves a shipmate.
Thank All of you for your service to our country. The sacrifices for your time and efforts and time away spent from your home in supporting our country cannot be re-paid – we owe you a debt.
Have a great day folks !
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NFO, happy Veteran’s Day. Though the passage of time is bittersweet. Another member of my old squadron, VP-56, passed away a couple of months ago. A man I respected greatly. AWC E. Robert “Bob” Conrad.
Absent comrades.
I was born in 1953 in Macon, Georgia. Everybody’s father had been in WWII, it seems.
My grandfather, William Jordan Paulette, landed in France on this day in 1918. He said that when he landed, that was one Bill too many, so Kaiser Bill had to go. He was in the Veterinary Corps, and his job was to take care of the mules. Like your father, he too was taken ill in the Influenza Pandemic; he told me he would wake up in the morning, and the men in beds on either side of him had passed away and been taken out in the night. He took up smoking in the Army, and kept the habit until January 1974, despite the emphysema and a heart attack. It was that which eventually killed him in March 1975. They used to give us cigarettes in the C ration packs.
My father, Pat Patterson, Sr, served in the Army Air Corps during WWII as a waist gunner; we have his qualification badge in our collection.
My uncle Bill Andy was in the Air Force in Korea; Uncle Andrew Lee was a Marine in the Pacific; Uncle Cecil was career Navy. Other uncles and cousins, too many to remember them all; service was just a fact of life.
I was an Army medic in Germany, 1972-1975.
My firstborn son, Sgt. Eli Jordan Patterson, was a re-purposed artillery specialist, cross-trained to provide security for the Shindan Air Base in Afghanistan. He had a bad day there, and was medically retired in 2013.
My grandson, Kenneth Emiohe, is currently serving with the Georgia Army National Guard, and expects his unit to be deployed in March.
I’m proud of our record.
Lord, hasten the day when the guns fall silent forever. Amen.
Hoo ah.
Hand Salute to All !!!
My mom’s Uncle Harry was with the Marines in WWI and got gassed but survived. I met him when I was really little on a family trip and he was incredibly thin and died in the early 60s. My Grandfather on my Dad’s side served with the Army in WWI.
In WWII my Uncle Homer, who was oldest in family served with Patton as supply Sargent and never got hurt. My Uncle Bob, the middle son. served on the USS Missouri as part of the gun crew where the surrender was signed and never got hurt. My Dad, went in at 17 to the Marines in 43 and island hopped until Okinawa where he was blown up. My Dad spent over a year in two Naval Hospitals until they let him out with a medical retirement. My Dad’s scars were horrible as they went from his left shoulder to right hip then all across both legs to his feet. None of them would talk about their time in war. All are dead now due to age.
I was last in my family as my sister was 8 years older and my brother was 6 years older. My folks were poor as we grew up and my Dad went to work and got his college degree via the GI Bill. We all worked to support the family and when we graduated HS we were shown the door to find life. My Brother found the Army as the draft called him in 69. I did not see him for 3 years until he came back from his unit being wiped out and he survived. He came back from a hospital and as a Ranger, and he had been wounded twice. He would not talk about his time in war. He spent 30 days at home then went to Ft Hood and spent another 3 years in the Army. He later died in an accident.
My wife’s family is all Navy. Her Dad became an officer in 46 and served all over. Rach of the kids were born at a different Naval Base. In Korea and Vietnam he served in CIC on Carriers and retired in the mid 70s. Her youngest brother served on a carrier but left after one service. Her oldest brother was an officer in Naval Intelligence and served all over including Iraq and Afghanistan until he retired has a Commander.
Hey Old NFO;
There are times if I could go back in time I would, all the crazy things we did…..before social media was a thing. And yeah I would hoist a tankard “Ich hat einen kamaraden gehat, do gipt keinen bessern”. German for “I had a comrade, there were none better.”
Your post reminds me of my grandfather that served in the Army Air Corp, and was stationed at a long closed base in Lake Charles Louisiana which was abandoned long before Chenault Field was closed. He never left the United States, but like all during that time, knew some that never returned. Between the war, and influenza, death was hovering close for all.
“The decision was made to hold the notification of the signing until 1100 to provide the symmetry that we know today.”
Sucked to be the guy who died at 10:59.
I interviewed a guy who had two PhD and a Masters.
I asked how he wanted to be addressed.
He said the proudest honorific he ever had was Sargent.
I feel the same way about myself.
To absent comrades! Navy 1979-2000. Two uncles Vietnam Era. One went to Nam as a Marine, only part came back, the other ended up in Korea where the Cold War wasn’t. Great Uncle was Korea. Wife’s Grandfather lied about his age and fought as an engineer in the Argonne WW1, Turned 18 and was wounded there. Tried to go back in for WW2. Told he was too old.
Most Sundays our little group have breakfast at a VFW or American Legion post. We also should include the volunteers, veterans and family members, that keep these posts open.
I would suggest getting hold of a copy of Ring of Fire by Churchill and Eberholst. It describes the war in 1914 around the world, Japan attack on German positions in Asia, the African campaigns as well as the European theatre.
All- Yep, it does seem to be a ‘family’ thing… Cousins and uncles in WWII, Korea. Army, Navy, USAF, and Marines.
Ray- I didn’t hear about Bob Conrad, thanks for letting me know.
6X Great-grandfather Casper Durst was in 2 PA regiments in our War of Independence.
The Civil War saw ancestors in PA and Ohio regiments.
Grandfather Smith was gassed in 1918. Died in ’44 riddled with cancer. My Great Uncle (grandfather’s b-in-law) was in same unit but his wound was an 8mm bullet to the neck. Remained there to his dying day (which was in his 80s!)
Uncle Bob endured Attu in WWII. His brother Jack was QM in Hawaii. Soft duty until you learn he was assigned to Graves Registration.
F-in-law Joe was in The Big Red One. Wounded in the Hurtgen Forest and again at The Bridge at Remagen. Helped liberate Buchenwald.
Dad’s first war was Korea then 2 tours in Vietnam.
Cousin Mindy, Army Nursing Corps, ER nurse, Baghdad, 2005. Also flew angel flights. Had the good sense to marry an Army Engineer.
That’s 230 years across 4 centuries.
Stretch- And you just proved our point about families!