[elcid1970]

We were taught in grade school that Sgt. Kilmer came upon a blasted, shrapnel-riddled tree in no-man’s-land, which inspired him to write the poem.

It was also the first time I learned that the poet Joyce Kilmer was not a woman. Joyce was a family surname.

Not unrelated: there are several new vids and articles on how many soldiers were killed on November 11, 1918 between the armistice being announced at 5:00 a.m. and when it took effect at 11:00 a.m.

It should have been, “oh, well, it’s over; let’s stand down now and just wait for eleven o’clock”. No, the war went viciously on with charges and artillery bombardments until IIRC more than 3,000 additional deaths resulted before the final hour. Senseless.

[Antoninus]

No, the war went viciously on with charges and artillery bombardments until IIRC more than 3,000 additional deaths resulted before the final hour. Senseless.

Crazy, isn't it? How would you like to be one of the families who found out that their loved one was killed in the war's final minutes.

[beelzepug]

“... more than 3,000 additional deaths resulted before the final hour. Senseless.”

Talk about the futility of war.