Senselessness Squared
The armistice that ended World War I went into effect at 11 a.m. on Nov. 11 (”the 11th of the 11th of the 11th”) in 1918.
At 10:45 a.m., French soldier Augustin Trébuchon was running to tell his friends that hot soup would be served after the ceasefire when he was shot and killed.
He wasn’t the final casualty, though. In the Forest of Argonne, American private Henry Gunther charged a German position just before 11:00 and was shot down. He died 60 seconds before the end of the war.
