Armistice Day- 90 Years Ago

This Veterans Day marks a special anniversary- it was ninety years ago today when hostilities ceased and the armistice was signed in the First World War. People today seem to know very little about World War I; it is not portrayed nearly as much in movies as World War II or Vietnam. Yet this was the conflict that ushered in a new era. At the onset of the war, Europe was still ruled by Kings, Emperors, and Czars; by the end of the war the Bolsheviks had seized power in Russia, America had asserted itself as an integral part of the world stage, the political landscape of Europe was changed, and at Versailles the seeds of the next war were sown. This was the most terrible war that mankind had known to that point, and the world saw unimaginable horrors such as the Armenian holocaust, chemical warfare, and a war of attrition that claimed a generation of young men. It saw aerial warfare, unrestricted submarine warfare, and massive government propaganda efforts. It saw Christian nations slaughtering each other, and a Pope whose pleas for peace went ignored. It was a global nightmare. Those who fought endured terrors few can imagine. Let us remember them today as well as thank those who currently serve us.