November 11, 1918, an armistice was signed on the 11th day of the 11th month at the 11th hour. Hence, November 11th had been observed as Armistice Day. [reference: This Day In History | November 11, 1918 - World War I ends ]
For me, World War I has a special meaning as my grandfather fought in this war. Fortunately, he lived another 50 years after it ended. Fathered my mother, who brought me into the world. And I still have his dog tags from his service.
Bur back in 1917, one of the popular songs to rally the troops was George M. Cohan's Over There:
After the Great War was over, Over There, its remembrance Armistice Daywas first observed in 1920. But in 1954 after the Korean War, it was changed to Veterans Day to honor veterans of all wars. [reference: Why Armistice Day Became Veterans Day ]
The Great War
The World War
The War to end all Wars... though it hasn't lived up to this name, unfortunately
World War One
World War I
The First World War
Whatever we called it.
Over There has been a defining song to boost morale home and abroad in the 20th century.
Above is pictured World War I veteran, Joseph Ambrose, 86, at the dedication day parade for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in 1982. He's holding the flag of his son, who was killed in the Korean War.
It's sad for parents to out-live their children. Even more poignant for parents whose children have given their life for their country.
One World War I solider, who was killed in action, was Private Martin Treptow. In his inaugural address in 1981, Ronald Reagan gave speech to remember who we are, honoring veterans and their sacrifices.
I had a grandfather who fought in that war. And the last veteran of that war, Florence Green, passed away in 2012. As I write this blog, we will pass the 98th anniversary of the end of the war on November 11, 1918. [reference: World War I History ]
But Great Britain and its Commonwealth was one of the allies hardest hit during World War One. Over 900,000+ killed in action. More than twice as many as the 450,000+ lost in World War Two.
The grief of such great losses gave rise to an increased interest in Spiritism after the Great War. A desire for family to contact their lost loved ones. And many mediums took advantage of this grief. Prophets for profit.
Yet many intelligent people, like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes creator, were convinced that they could contact their departed loved ones, who had moved on to another plane of existence. Much like the modern wonder of the wireless radio could transmit messages across great distances in the real world.
At this time (1920s), Scientific American concluded Spiritism warranted a serious, scientific investigation. And one of its judges included the Great Harry Houdini. As a stage magician, Houdini knew the tricks of the flimflam artists and could reproduce the psychic phenomena that manifested in seances. (Fodder for another blog.)
In the beginning of the book, The Witch of Lime Street, a phrase jumped out at me. One used by Sir Oliver Lodge. He disliked the barbarous word death. He preferred to see death as an emigration.
The boys going west
That rang a bell.
I recalled English writer and professor J.R.R Tolkien had fought in World War One. And witnessed much of the horror as well as the loss of many of his friends. And that experience made its way into his trilogy:
And at the end of the tale, many of the characters, the Elves, Gandalf, Bilbo, Frodo, sailed into the West, to the Undying Lands. [reference: Undying Lands ]
The Undying Lands. Life after death. Hope after the devastation of war. Whether the epic battles in fantasies, such as Lord of the Rings. Or the World Wars of reality.
The Boys Going West ...
And war leaves a mark and makes its way into literature. Such as this sixth post in...
When I was visiting a Renaissance Festival, one of the players I encountered was an expert in English history. He invited me to ask him questions about anything in English history. And I was able to field a few of them, in which he gladly answered. I confessed that I got most of my background in English history from watching the BBC comedy Blackadder. He smiled and commented that was a good source.
It started back in the l980s ....
After watching a late night showing of the Blackadder series on PBS, I fell in love with this British comedy. Later, I purchased the entire set of the four seasons, two specials, and one short movie. [reference: Amazon.com: Black Adder: The Complete Collector's Set]
One of the actors, Sir Tony Robinson, is a history expert. As one of the features of my DVD collection, Sir Tony gave min-lessons on English history and literature that was relevant to the season. That helped me to get the jokes, as the episodes were chucked full of Shakespearean quotes as well as works of other literary greats.
This one got to me. I had a grandfather that I knew who fought in that war. And this August (the month when Britain declared war on Germany) marks the centennial of the start of the Great War. [For reference: Timeline of World War One]
Below shows Private Baldrick expressing his angst to General Melchett at the thought of the Big Push.
* Private Baldrick asks Captain Blackadder how did the Great War get started. The answer is amusing, but sadly has much truth in the explanation that it was too much effort not to have war.
* The soldiers' share their fond memories of the Christmas truce of 1914 when they heard "Silent Night" in the air over No Man's Land and clambering over the top to play football with the Germans.
* Lt. George reminiscences about that day August 4, 1914 when he and his chums from Cambridge joined right up. Then he realizes he was the last of his chums from that Golden summer of 1914 that is still alive.
* As it's time to go over the top, they all admit they're scared, but carry on to meet their fate.
The clip below is the last scene as they go over the top:
According to BBC news, "The poignant finale of sitcom Blackadder has been voted the best farewell episode of a TV series." And it makes me tear up every time I see it.
Though all the known World War One veterans have passed away, may the sacrifices of all those who fought a century ago not be forgotten. But it seems we are no wiser at the turn of the century, whether it be the 20th or 21st.
We see a legacy of the Great War this coming Monday. Signing the Armistice to cease the hostilities of this war at 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month - November 11, 1918 - has evolved to the national holiday we recognize as Veterans Day. (History of Veterans Day - Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs)
And on such a holiday, we are most thankful for all the veterans, who have put themselves in harm's way to defend us and keep us safe. Where are all the veterans of the Great War, in which this holiday first honored?
As the link above indicates, many remember Alvin York as the laconic reluctant hero from the 1941 movie, Sergeant York, starring Gary Cooper. And Sergeant York did not seek the lime light as he had condemned war and even questioned America's involvement in World War One. But later he saw war as a necessary evil under some circumstances.
Sergeant York agreed to have the movie made seeing Hitler as the personification of evil. And a film of his life would to help to combat the isolationist stance of the America First Committee, endorsed by Charles Lindbergh. (But the committee as well as America's isolationist stance dissolved after the attack on Pearl Harbor.) (Charles Lindbergh's Noninterventionist Efforts & America First Committee)
Alvin York - Humble Log Cabin Beginnings
Alvin York was born in a log cabin near Pall Mall, Tennessee in 1887. He had little formal education, but worked on the family farm and hunted to help feed the family. Hence, he had developed his skills as a marksman. When his father passed away in 1911, Alvin helped his mother raise his younger brother and sisters.
Alvin York - Sinner
As he came of age, Alvin York had earned a reputation as a deadly accurate shot as well as a hell-raiser. He drank, gambled, fought, had been arrested for bad behavior, and considered a nuisance and someone that "would not amount to anything."
Alvin York - Coming to Jesus
As shown in the clip below, the movie depicts Alvin York literally coming to Jesus after a lightening strike as he was seeking revenge on his rival for cheating him. Most likely this story was an embellishment, but it makes for a good yarn - especially in Hollywood. (Sergeant Alvin York - Mental Floss)
But in 1915, Alvin York embraced the Church of Christ in Christian Union, a fundamental sect that forbade many things including drinking, dancing, movies, swimming, swearing, popular literature, and moral injunctions against violence and war. His conversion may have been prompted by the senseless death of a close friend in a bar fight, whereas Alvin York attended an H. H. Russell revival meeting and came to Jesus, turning from his wicked ways. (reference: The 100 Greatest Heroes)
Alvin York - Conscientious Objector
After the Great War broke out and America entered into the fray in 1917, American men were being drafted. As part of his religion, Alvin York did not believe in killing and violence, which is what war is all about - killing people and breaking things. Turned down by the draft board as a "conscientious objector" since his church was not recognized as a legitimate sect, Alvin York, nearly 30 years old at the time, appealed the decision, but reluctantly went to Camp Gordon for basic training anyway.
The Tennessee native proved himself in training with his excellent marksmen skills. And his superiors were intrigued by this man who wrote on his draft card - "Dont [sic] want to fight." The scene below captures some of this struggle and Alvin York's final decision "to render unto Caesar " hence go to war -
Private Alvin York finally came to the conclusion that there were times when war was moral and ordained by God. He believed that God would keep him safe as he committed himself to become a good soldier. When his regiment of the 82nd Infantry Divisionwas deployed to France, he kept a diary of his adventures. His moment of destiny came on October 8, 1918 in Argonne Forest during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in France.
Alvin York - War Hero
Then Corporal Alvin C. York with 16 other soldiers were dispatched to take command of the Decauville railroad. Misreading their map (written in French not English), they mistakenly found themselves behind enemy lines. The Americans engaged the enemy resulting in the unexpected surrender of a superior German force.
Once the Germans realized that the Americans only numbered 17 men, the German machine gunners on the hill opened fire on them killing nine Americans and wounding the Sergeant, who turned over command to two of his corporals. The corporals then ordered Alvin York to silence the machine gun, which he did and - using his turkey hunting skills - captured 132 prisoners in the process.
This amazing scene is played out in the clip below
This feat led to Alvin York being designated the “greatest soldier in history” and secure his place in the history books.
Corporal York was promoted to Sergeant York. He continued to fight in France until the Armistice was signed on November 11th. Sergeant York was awarded a Congressional Medal of Honor, a Distinguished Service Cross, the Badge of Nobility, and the French Croix de Guerre, among others.
Alvin York - an inspiration 100 years later
Sergeant York has been an inspiration as a reluctant American hero, even likened to Davy Crockett, Daniel Boone, and Abraham Lincoln for his roots in the quasi-frontier and a figure rising on the national scene. Much more could be said of his humility, his desire to help educate those in his native Tennessee, and willingness to do what he could to help during World War Two.
And below is a tribute to him after he passed away in 1964,
As a baby boomer, I grew up with parents who had lived through the Great Depression.
The mantra of their generation:
Use it up Wear it out Make do Or do without
I'd also hear:
"We did not have this in the Great Depression."
and
"We did not have that in the Great Depression."
And it didn't take long for me to get sick and tired of hearing about the Great Depression!
I'm sure my folks were frustrated, too, by us young people - at least we were young back then - who didn't seem to have a clue as to what they had gone through when they were our age. But art and history had left us with many clues. Let's take a gander at the ....
Art of that era
Lange - Migrant Mother
Much artwork masterfully reflected the desperation of the Great Depression. One famous example - Dorothea Lange captured a snapshot of the harsh reality of the times in her iconic photography: Dorothea Lange | Shorpy Historical Photo Archive
Another, John Steinbeck's novel - The Grapes of Wrath - was made into an Oscar winning motion picture in 1940, telling the story of migrants, driven from their farms during the Dust Bowlto seek out work in the promised land of California.
But many ordinary people just wanted relief ... even if that relief came in the form of a fantasy to provide an ...
Escape from the grim reality of the Great Depression
And the movies provided such an escape - at least for an hour or two. Many motion pictures portrayed the blue bloods, high society, easy living in "screwball" comedies. (reference: Movies in the Great Depression)
Warner Brothers put out one such movie in the 1930s with a seemingly escapist plot:
Millionaire turned composer rescues unemployed Broadway people with a new play ....
in
The Gold Diggers of 1933
The Gold Diggers of 1933 did not disappoint their audience's hunger for escape with its characters of millionaires, high society, show girls, in another screwball comedy.
The title characters - the Gold Diggers - were the scheming show girls (Fay, Polly, Carol, Trixie) - who mixed it up with the blue bloods. Polly's heart throb, aspiring song writer Brad Roberts, hid that he was an heir to a large fortune. When Brad's cover was blown, his big brother Lawrence tried to stop Brad's marriage plans to a Gold Digger with not much help from the family lawyer, who happened to love show girls.
The first scene of the movie, shown below, opened with a fluffy number sung by Fay, played by Ginger Rogers - who also was in other films as the famous dancing partner of Fred Astaire.
$$$ We're in the Money $$$
We're in the Money conveyed a common theme during troubling economic times when many dream of wealth beyond their reach.
The opening number was cut short as the Broadway show was in trouble from the get go due to lack of funds. Alas, it closed before it had a chance to open, and the producer, Barney Hopkins, and the show girls were back looking for work. But Barney would not give up and had a wonderful idea for his next show, but needed ...money. Help came from Polly's sweetheart, Brad, the aspiring song writer - and a secret millionaire.
Most of the movie was fun with some more fluffy and even risque numbers - such as, Pettin in the Park. (This movie was" pre-code," made before the Hays code came fully into effect.) And those scheming Gold Diggers created mischief and chaos by swapping identities and toying with the blue bloods. But in the end Polly, Carol, and Trixie caught millionaires for husbands. Not so sure what happened to Fay.
For all its fun and good feel ...
The final scene of the movie surprised me.
In the first part of the movie, after Barney's show had closed before it opened, the producer was not to be kept down. Barney wanted to put on another show - a great show - that captured the spirit of the Great Depression. And song writer Brad happened to be working on such a piece - inspired by what he had witnessed out on the streets of New York - the forgotten man.
(The inspiration for Barney's next show is shown in first seconds of the clip below. Then the remainder of the clip shows the result, the final scene of the movie.)
Carol, played by Joan Blondell, sang the final number in Barney's Broadway show as well as the final scene in the Gold Diggers of 1933 movie. (If the name of the actress sounds familiar to you baby boomers, Joan Blondell also played saloon/hotel keeper Lottie Hatfield in a popular TV series of (1968- 70) - Here Come the Brides.) The lyrics and a commentary can be found here: Remember My Forgotten Man (1933)
This clip below is worth a serious look.
Remember My Forgotten Man?
The End!!!
This was the final scene of the movie. Period. No more on how well the show was received by the public. No more about the producer, the Gold Diggers, or their beaus. Yet, on this somewhat downer note, Warner Brothers captured the ...
Zeitgeist - the spirit of the times ...
and the forgotten man endemic of the Hoovervilles that went up at the time.
Unemployed
And - for me - the final number captured some of the spirit of the times we are now living in. The country has been suffering through a deep recession and many - men, women, and children - undoubtedly feel like ...
the forgotten man, the forgotten woman, the forgotten child.
Some of the scenes in the final number got to me as I thought of the war veterans from Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, and other places home and abroad, which we owe a debt of gratitude. Tragically, many veterans have fallen on hard times, too, and are homeless.
Such scenes of the World War One veterans are shown in the clip above at these time stamps:
* Time stamp: 4:15 - The vagrant slumped near the doorway, harassed by the police officer, turns out to be a veteran with medal.
* Time stamp: 4:35 - The tempo increases showing the call to arms during World War One, followed by the troops coming back beat and wounded only to face unemployment and the bread lines of the Great Depression.
And my grandfather was one of those veterans of World War One, who really had to hustle to support his family and keep a job that had shrunk to only two or three days a week.
This final scene of the Gold Diggers of 1933 gave me a taste of the Great Depression and what the Greatest Generation had gone through.
And Remember My Forgotten Man? from the Gold Diggers of 1933 - conveying the zeitgeist of the Great Depression as well as other trying times in our history and the challenges yet to come - are part of the American culture which, Lord willing, will be continued to be reinforced in this blog ....
It happened almost a hundred years ago - the Great War, the World War - now known as World War One, as there would be more than one great world war in the 20th century. For many of us, our great grandparents, grandparents, and even parents may have fought in this war. To all of us still living, the Great War seems like ancient history.
Volumes were written about this war, which H.G. Wells called - "The War That Will End War." For a summary, below is a brief history of the First World War:
The "armistice" to end the war took effect on November 11, 1918 - at the 11th hour of 11th day of 11th month. And became known as - Armistice Day ... later Veteran's Day.
.... 11/11/11 ....
But this year - 2011 - marks a milestone as the the last of the World War One veterans have passed away.
Frank Buckles
The last living U.S. World War I veteran, Frank Buckles, passed away in February this year at the age of 110 - his story. He served in both World Wars. During WW1, he was an ambulance driver. In WW2, he was a POW, captured by the Japanese.
Rest in peace and we are grateful for your service to our country
Claude 'Chuckles' Choules
The last of the front line World War One veterans, Claude 'Chuckles' Choules, passed away in May this year, also at the age of 110 - his story He also served in both World Wars. In WW1, he was a sailor in the Australian Royal Navy; WW2 a demolitions officer in Australia .
May you rest peacefully as your countrymen are grateful for your service to your country as well as your service to all your allies.
When my grandmother passed away in 1975, I collected a metallic shaving mirror inscribed with a sergeant's name. The sergeant was her fiance. His mother sent her the mirror after he was killed in action during the Great War, which we now call World War One.
My grandmother later married a veteran of the Great War, an immigrant from Denmark. (I still have his dog tags.) For his service to his country, my grandfather earned his US citizenship.
My mother said her father talked little about the devastation of the mustard gas that he had witnessed or his life in the trenches, which affected his legs for the next 50 years. It was an experience he wished to put behind him.
This Veterans Day, in memory of the World War One soldiers like my grandfather and my grandmother's first fiance, the following YouTube.com scene is my tribute to their sacrifices as well as the sacrifices of all the men and women who serve their country.
One BBC comedy that I have enjoyed is Blackadder, whose four seasons span various periods of English history. The last season, Blackadder Goes Forth, is set during the Great War. After three weary years in the trenches, the British soldiers finally get the order to "go over the top."
According to BBC news, "The poignant finale of sitcom Blackadder has been voted the best farewell episode of a TV series."
In Flanders Fields
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
- Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)
Canadian Army
Other links from YouTube.com:
In Flanders Fields
(tribute of music and images set to the words of the poem above.)
Over There: Remembering WWI
("Vintage Antique Classics" presents "Over There" patriotic music by George M. Cohan, sung by early 20th century Pop sensation Bill Murray.)
