This article is part of a series about Wheeling during the First World War. The series will lead up to a centennial observation of Armistice Day (now known as Veteran’s Day) to be held on November 11, 2018 at 2 pm at the Doughboy monument at Wheeling Park. If you are a descendant of a WWI veteran or nurse, please contact us at lunchwithbooks@yahoo.com.
The War to Ends Wars
The “Great War” had raged in Europe for three years before the United States joined the conflict on the side of the Allies in April 1917. What H.G. Wells optimistically dubbed, “the war that will end war” is now known as the First World War because, of course, instead of ending wars, it led to a second, far for destructive international conflict just two decades after the November 11, 1918 Armistice.
That was enough time for a whole new generation of farm and factory boys to follow their fathers and grandfathers onto the blood-soaked battlefields of France and Germany. In most important ways, the Second World War was merely the continuation of the first. It follows that memory of the first is often overshadowed by what happened twenty years later.
It has now been nearly a century since that celebrated Armistice. In this series of posts, we will present an overview of Wheeling’s involvement in the First World War. And on November 11, 2018 at 2 pm at the Spirit of the American Doughboy Statue at Wheeling Park, the City of Wheeling will remember those who served on the centennial of that Armistice. Read More