They Began to Sing

 On November 11th, 1918, the morning did not begin with destruction. It did not begin with fear in trenches or explosions. Instead, there was the sound of peace that had not rested in Europe since 1914. It is easier to think of what peace did not sound like that morning. It may have not sounded quite like people may think. Many people may not know what it sounds like, what it feels like, what it is. This peace was won with 9 million lives. Among the survivers, some became bitter, many looked forward to healing and others to helping their friends heal, and all looked forward to having peace. That morning, the morning of the 11th in Washington D.C., our 28th president wrote, “Everything for which America has fought has been accomplished. It will now be our fortunate duty to assist by example, by sober, friendly counsel, and by material aid, in the establishment of just democracy throughout the world.”

There was a man, probably one of many, who wrote about that day day later to his family. He was a lieutenant of the 101st infantry. His name was Harry G. Rennagel.

“Nothing wuite so electrical in effect as the sudden stop that came at 11 a.m. has ever occurred to me. It was 10:60 precisely and – the roar stopped like a motor car hitting a wall. The resulting quiet was uncanny in comparison. From somewhere far below ground, Germans began to appear. They clambered up the parapets and began to shout wildly. They threw their rifles, hats, bandoliers, bayonets, and trench knives toward us. They began to sing.”