I Remember When is a collection of stories written by Extension Homemakers of North Carolina in 1978. Contributors were 65 or older at the time, and they wrote about things that happened 50 or more years ago. The following is Aileen McGill’s remembrance of Armistice Day, Nov. 11, 1918. Copyright by the North Carolina Extension Homemakers Association, which published I Remember When.
November Eleven Nineteen Eighteen
Mrs. Aileen G. McGill, Scotland County
Three score years have passed, but the time has not dimmed my memory of a very special and dramatic celebration, one that all citizens of the United State acclaim as a great day in our history, November 11, 1918. News that the Armistice had been signed had reached Washington prematurely a week earlier and a celebration of sorts had begun, but it was short lived. This second report that fighting had stopped was correct! The blowing of horns and shouts of PEACE awakened me in the early morning hours of that eventful day, and I was in the right place, at the right time, Washington, District of Columbia, capital of our great nation, the place I had yearned to be, but had dared to hope that such longings could become a reality. From that moment on, throughout that day, far into the night that followed and into the early hours of the next day celebrants crowded the streets, giving full vent to their sheer joy and emotions because fighting had ceased. No one wanted to go home; everyone lingered where the action was, eager to be a part of it all.
Four years earlier world leaders, knowing that much of Europe was a tinder box, stood still when it became known that the Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary had been assassinated on June 28, 1914. A month later Austria had declared War on Serbia. In rapid succession Germany had declared war on Russia and France, and had invaded Belgium; Great Britain had declared war on Germany and Austria-Hungary, Austria on Russia and Belgium, France on Austria, Japan on Germany. Where would it all stop? Newspaper headlines screamed the destruction, devastation and annihilation. Under war clouds I had begun my Freshman year at a small college in South Carolina the fall of 1914.
The United States declared war on Germany April 6, 1917. Until then, as time passed, our national leaders, being fully aware of the progress of the war, had hoped to remain aloof, but realized that each day had brought us nearer the brink. Two months after the declaration of war the first United States contingent had landed in France, congress had passed a seven billion-dollar war bond bill. Loyal to a righteous cause industry geared itself to meet the requirements of the armed forces; civilians drew in their belts as they dealt with shortages and rationing while increasing their quotas on production lines. Soon patriotism was at its height. The presence of Old Glory, the parading of our G.I.’s in uniform, the music of our military bands, the singing of songs such as “It’s a Long Way to Tipperary”, “Keep the Home Fires Burning”, “Yankee Doodle”, “Dixie”, “the Star Spangled Banner”, all helped to spirit up the people. The United States! What a great nation! What a great people! In a time of crisis we rally to the challenge, whatever it may be, and meet it head on.
PEACE. When would it come? After four years of war, waged in the air, on the ground, in the sea, what news could have been more welcomed than that which came to us 11 November, 1918, nineteen months after we entered the affray? Tired of war we were ready to celebrate and celebrate we did. Noise makers of any kind, musical or otherwise, were put to use. Everyone felt a kinship with whomever he met. Patriotic songs filled the air. Business was at a standstill; only those places that sold food and drink remained open. Though the crowds were dense, it was an orderly group, the young, the old, the lame, the blind, each spontaneously giving the other a Hail-Fellow greeting.
The formal celebration, what a spectacle, was held that night at the mall. Bonfires, one for each of the 48 states, sent their glow skyward. Perhaps a thousand persons gathered around the one for South Carolina, my home state. All were there to add their voices in songs and laughter, never seeming to tire. From the speakers’ platform came the formal announcement the Armistice had been signed by Germany “The eleventh of November nineteen eighteen 5 P.M. French time”. A tear jerking experience! About midnight as everyone joined in singing “The Star Spangled Banner” a mighty display of beautiful fireworks began. A tremendous explosion of hundreds of pieces brought to an end a Twenty-four Hour Celebration of Thanksgiving. What a grand finale! I was there! I was a part of it all, an employee of the United States Treasury Department, doing my bit for the country I love.
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