... The Great War ended:
Captain Harry S. Truman was serving in an artillery battalion of the Missouri National Guard. He fired his last round at 10:45 a.m. that day. Finally, after four long years of the worst mass killing in human history, the guns fell silent. An estimated ten million had died in the great war. Then, at last, "all quiet on the western front."
That night, Harry complained that the men of the neighboring French artillery battalion kept him awake. They had gotten drunk and each one insisted on marching past Harry's bed to salute him and yell, "Vive President Wilson! Vive le Capitaine d'artillerie Americaine!"
On the German side, Corporal Adolf Hitler received the news in a military hospital; he had been temporarily blinded by poison gas. He cried bitter tears. For his courage under fire, Corporal Hitler was awarded the Iron Cross, First Class. He was recommended for this unusually high honor by Captain Hugo Guttman, a Jew. (William J. Bennett - America, The Last Best hope, Vol II)
Today is Veterans Day in the United States, and Remembrance Day in Canada, where we pause on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month to commemorate the WW I Armistice. The day has grown into a tribute to all veterans of all wars.
This year we lost our last World War I veteran, Frank Buckles, and the the cohort of living WW II veterans is dwindling rapidly.
Here is a beautiful musical tribute to veterans by Canadian musician Terry Kelly. It is unabashedly patriotic, whether you're Canadian or American, and don't be surprised if it brings a tear or two. I know I can't help it, especially when that line of veterans appears out of the past.
