Today, November 11th is Veteran’s Day – a special day to honor those that gave service to our great country.
The date comes from WWI when the war to end all wars “officially ended” November 11, 1918 @ 11am even though the German government had surrendered days before. The French and British Generals/politicians liked the symmetry of 11/11 @ 11am so while the bigshots knew the war was over, the low ranking soldiers in the trenches were unaware and kept fighting. Estimates are a few thousand soldiers were injured/killed over the last few days of WWI and these casualties NEVER needed to happen. Hearing stories like this is why I usually get suspicious of government officials no matter the political party!!!
Below is info on the last US soldier killed in WWI courtesy of Wall Street legend Art Cashin:
On this day in 1918, Private Henry Gunther of Baltimore, MD thought he saw a suspicious movement in the German trenches across the way. Fearing that the "Huns" were using the mid-morning sun to get some territorial advantage while the peace talks dragged on, Gunther decided to rush the suspicious area. Henry was fast but, unfortunately, not invisible. A single shot from a German rifle struck him in the heart and killed him instantly. The time was 11:01 a.m. just 1 minute after the war officially ended, making Private Henry Gunther the final casualty of World War I.
Thus, he joined nearly 8.4 million other victims who died in that conflict alone (113,000 Americans). But Gunther was in a distinct minority - he died of a wound. More than half of the rest died of the flu or other illnesses. But, as noted, at 11:01 a.m., Harry Gunther became the last military casualty of World War I. If only he had known that world leaders had already agreed upon on a cease-fire (about four days before). But with a nod to symmetry, history and-yes-even numerology, they had decided to implement the Armistice on the Eleventh hour of the Eleventh day of the Eleventh month.
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John