Extraordinary Stories From An Ordinary Guy: The "War To End All Wars Was A Misnomer: Part I

Saturday, December 1, 2018

The "War To End All Wars Was A Misnomer: Part I - Lancaster's New Rememberance" Story

It was an ordinary day. Just got back from downtown Lancaster where I visited and photographed a new display of plaques at the Lancaster County Government Center located at the corner of West Chestnut and North Queen Street. The new plaques were unveiled to celebrate the end of WWI also known as "The Great War" and the "war to end all wars". The plaques also honored those who participated in the Civil War, World War II, the Korean War and the Viet Nam War. An article appeared in the newspaper yesterday telling of the plaques and I thought I would visit and see what they might look like. They were revealed recently due to the celebration of Armistice Day and Veterans Day on November 11. It was on November 11, 1918 at 2:50 a.m. Eastern Time that the United States Department announced in a single sentence that the war would officially come to a close at 11:00 a.m. that same day. On that day in history sirens blared and church bells chimed in the city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania as well as many other cities around the world announcing the war's end. The war was sparked by the June 1914 assassination of Austria-Hungary Archduke Franz Ferdinand by a Serbian nationalist in Sarajevo, Bosnia. National alliances led countries to mobilize with Russia, Serbia, Britain and France pulling together and being known as the Triple Entente while on the other side were Austria-Hungary, Germany and the Ottoman Empire which was known as the Triple Alliance. By the time the war was declared over on November 11, 1918 an estimated nine million troops and seven million civilians died as a direct result of the war with about 50 to 100 million deaths worldwide contributed to the 1918 influenza pandemic that was said to have been caused by the war. The war was one of the deadliest conflicts in history and led to major political changes in many of the nations involved. Unresolved rivalries at the end of the conflict contributed to the start of World War II twenty years later. Many treaties resulted from WWI as well as the formation of the League of Nations which was intended to prevent another world war which for various reasons failed to do so. WWI was not a true religious war, but it was framed religiously. Various religions were swept away as well as other formed. Martin Luther was elevated to hero status during that period, nearly 400 years after the Reformation. During the many battles soldiers saw themselves as martyrs on a Christian Crusade. Protestants, Catholics, Muslims and Jews all fought for both sides. By the time November 11, 1918 rolled around everyone, no matter what religion, was ready to call it quits. Well, the plaques unveiled recently are to be a new symbol to commemorate the historic event in 1918. Lancaster's Mayor Danene Sorace thanked the veterans who gathered to watch the unveiling for their service to "make this world a better place to remind us that Lady Justice really does stand for something. As noted, the war to end all wars was not our last war so the plaques will help us remember those who fought in wars that came after. I have added a photograph of each plaque to show you the fabulous job that was done to honor our veterans. Tomorrow I will finish my story about WWI with a bit about how animals played a vital part in the war. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - click on photos to enlarge them.