—Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Breakfast of Champions
Operation AXIOM: The 105th Anniversary of the Armistice of Compiègne
One hundred five years ago to the day, 11 November 1918, "at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month," the guns fell silent on the Western Front. The "War to End All Wars" was over. Tens of millions were dead. Empires lay in ruins. Revolution was in the air. The world that had existed before the summer of 1914 was shattered utterly, torn asunder by unfathomable bloodshed.
The world had never seen madness as red as the World War; pray to the Almighty that we shall not see madness so red in our own lifetime. A century later, only the ignorant &/or the foolish would say we do not live in a world yet scarred by 1914-1918, haunted by the ghost of a war most of us prefer to pretend never happened. Western civilization barely survived the suicide attempt of 1914-1918, & might yet succumb to the wound. It all ended—in triumph, in defeat, in exhaustion, in jubilation—on 11 November 1918, one hundred five years ago today.
"At a Calvary near the Ancre"
by Wilfred Owen (1893-1918)
One ever hangs where shelled roads part.
In this war He too lost a limb,
But His disciples hide apart;
And now the Soldiers bear with Him.
Near Golgotha strolls many a priest,
And in their faces there is pride
That they were flesh-marked by the Beast
By whom the gentle Christ's denied.
The scribes on all the people shove
And bawl allegiance to the state,
But they who love the greater love
Lay down their life; they do not hate.
Commentary: Lieutenant Wilfred Owen, M.C., was killed in action on 4 November 1918, one week before the Armistice.
"For the Fallen"
by Laurence Binyon (1869-1943)
With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,
England mourns for her dead across the sea.
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,
Fallen in the cause of the free.
Solemn the drums thrill; Death august and royal
Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres.
There is music in the midst of desolation
And a glory that shines upon our tears.
They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted;
They fell with their faces to the foe.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old,
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
They mingle not with laughing comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables of home;
They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;
They sleep beyond England's foam.
But where our desires are and our hopes profound,
Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars are known to the Night;
As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain;
As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,
To the end, to the end, they remain.
The Wayback Machine Tour of Armistice Day: Lest We Forget
Armistice Day '22 + Armistice Day '21 + Armistice Day '20 + Armistice Day '18
Armistice Day '17 + Armistice Day '16 + Armistice Day '15 + Armistice Day '14
Armistice Day '13 + Armistice Day '12 + Armistice Day '11 + Armistice Day '10
Armistice Day '09 + Armistice Day '08 + Armistice Day '07 + Armistice Day '06
Armistice Day '05 + Armistice Day '04 + Armistice Day '03 + Armistice Day '02
The Explorers' Club № DCLVI: 11 November 1918—The Armistice
The Explorers' Club № DCCXVI: 11 November 1919—The First Armistice Day
The Explorers' Club № DCCLXXXIII: 11 November 1920—The Second Armistice Day
The Explorers' Club № DCCCLVII: 11 November 1921—The Third Armistice Day
The Rebel Black Dot Song o' Armistice Day
Arthur Fields, "Over There" from Freedom: Songs from the Heart of America (Mike Papa Whiskey)
Commentary: "Over There" was written in 1917 by George M. Cohan, to celebrate the United States's entrance into the World War.
Lest we forget.
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