One hundred years ago today, our ancestors gathered in celebration as Germany signed an armistice to stop fighting the Great War. The Treaty of Versailles ended the War to End All Wars. The great battle was over. Even though this is a day in America to celebrate those who serve and served in our military, I’m going to talk about World War I on this Veteran’s Day.
My grandfather Arnold served in the Great War. He was a farmer from Texas, near Vernon. I don’t know all the facts, but imagine for a moment the life of a farmer in the nineteen-teens. You do a majority of your work by hand. You fill a 150-gallon barrel from a well a quarter of a mile away. You have no electricity at your house, which isn’t all that grand. Your source of news comes from talking to your neighbors on the one day you go into town for supplies or listening to the car radio when the reception was clear. How much news did he hear about the war on the other side of the world? And how accurate was that news as it passed from person to person?
Yet, he signed up and joined the US Army. He traveled, probably by train, from Texas to the East Coast. Who else was on that train with him? Who did he talk to? Who did he become friends with? I’m assuming the ride took a few days. All the while, he saw the undeveloped landscape and bustling cities. Arriving on the coast, he and his new friends piled onto a ship and sailed across the Atlantic. A week or two of sailing and waiting. Maybe getting seasick, or catching his bunk mate’s cold. Was his ship part of a convoy, or did it sail alone?
He arrived in France and said goodbye to many of the men met along the way. His job was to stay at the docks and work the mule teams that were used to unload the equipment on the arriving ships. Day in and day out, for I don’t know how long, he led the mules from the pen, hooked them up and unloaded the heavy cargo. It wasn’t a glamorous job, but in war is there one? My grandfather worked hard during the Great War. From what I know, he never was in a battle, but I’m sure he met men who were. Did he see them again when they left France?
History doesn’t write itself, and the Great War has over a million stories to tell. We know a fair amount of them. How many will we never know? Take time and thank a veteran today. More importantly, listen to their story and learn something new.
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What I’m Reading – Many readers I know like to inquire what their favorite author is reading. At the end of each blog post, I’ll let you know what book is open on my Kindle. I hope my choice of reading material inspires you to read a variety of authors and topics. Currently, I’m reading Ellis Peters’ Brother Cadfael series. I’m on the seventeenth book The Potter’s Field.
Bill’s Cajun House of Pleasure is available on Amazon, as an eBook, and in physical formats. It is also available on the Barnes and Noble website.