The attached Stars & Stripes article concerns the same topic as the well-researched book by Joseph Persico, Eleventh Month, Eleventh Day, Eleventh Hour: Armistice Day, 1918 (2003, Random House). For those who are curious about the violent climax of the war, this two page article will help you to understand which A.E.F. units were still attacking along what front at 10:59 a.m. on November 11, 1918.
“Then a quite startling thing occurred. The skyline of the crest ahead of them grew suddenly populous with dancing soldiers…The Germans came with outstretched hands, ear-to-ear grins and souvenirs to swap for cigarettes… They came to tell how pleased they were the fight had stopped, how glad they were the Kaiser had departed for parts unknown, how fine it was to know they would have a republic at last in Germany.”
“So came to an end the 11th of November, 1918; the 585th day since America entered the war.”
There is no reference made to Sergeant Henry Gunther, of Baltimore, who was shot through the chest by German machine gun bullets at 10:59 outside the village of Ville-devant-Chaumont.
Above is a photo of the Henry Gunther memorial that was erected outside of the French village of Chaumont-devant-Damvillers in 2014.
Our hats are off to Pierre Lenhard, the local historian who saw to it that this Doughboy not be forgotten.
(Many thanks to our friends at The San Mihiel Tripwire for providing this image).
Available from Amazon:
Eleventh Month, Eleventh Day, Eleventh Hour: Armistice Day, 1918
