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Show How One Veteran Locks Bad; Upon Time of Conflict High Military Officer Tells of Rejoicing Among Soldiers Sol-diers at End of Warfare. In an Interview printed in the Kan-as Kan-as City Star Magazine In 11VJ3 01. I IV. N. Hughes, former chief of staff j if the Rainbow division, gave the following fol-lowing recollections of the lllh of hovember, in France, in 191S: US "VN ARMISTICE day eight I I I -vears as a 6reiU silence I J fell upon the fields of J France. Men felt the amaz- I lug stillness like a shock of pain. Then 1 the realization came that It was all I over and they gave vent to their sup-I sup-I pressed feelings, each in his own way. j It Is a date that justly should be ob-I ob-I served. A legal holiday is appropri-I appropri-I ite, but let us not make it a carnival 1 occasion. We have our real national I holiday, July 4, and Armistice day J should not be considered of eciual im-I im-I portance. j "Just as Kansas City has Its Liberty I memorial, so every town has some sort I of tablet or memorial to Its service j inco. It seems fitting that ceremonies J should' center rhere. We Americans 1 luve to parade, but the public is tired j of watching. I doubt whether it Is I worth while for the veterans to as-I as-I sHiuble in marching order, although by I all means they should attend the cere-I cere-I mony. I "Societies that grew nut of the war I sud those that were active during that I period should participate in a patrl-I patrl-I otle program of speeches and music. I The American Legion, churches, I schools, business houses all civic, pa-1 pa-1 Mode and religious organizations I should combine. That Is enough." I Colonel Hughes was billeted with I ,,! division between Metz and Sedan I when the armistice was signed. He 1 ikiIs how tut anticipated the ces.sa-I ces.sa-I "on of hostilities several weeks before I the armistice. I Enemy Morale Shattered. I "The German morale was shattered," j he said. "I first realized this when I e came upon the trendies that the j "'"im- had ahaidnned. Among other I "Aigs left behind were hundreds of I '''U'rs the soldiers had written, but I 'Pparently never had been able to I nail J "I had about fifty such letters trans-.1 trans-.1 "led and an were of the same trend. I The writers promised their wives and I ""others they would come home at the I opportunity, and that they would I 2 t0 slip Pttoes and other food I hrnil"i the lines. Nenrlv all bespoke j ' economic unrest. "The prisoners captured about this I time were frankly elated and Inquired frequently why we Americans still were fighting when they had quit. They considered the war ended and saw no use in endangering themselves further. Their cause seemed futile and they knew their families were suffering. suf-fering. "Toward the finish of the World war the German machine guns still were active, but the-artillery tire practically had ceased. We often were not more than three hundred yards away from them, but the danger of attack had lessened. It is an old story, though, how Germany ceased being the aggressor. ag-gressor. Feared Further Warfare. "A grapevine report circulated Just before the armistice through our division di-vision that we were to entrain for Italy and fight the Austrians. The rumor ru-mor grew to the proportions of a foregone fore-gone conclusion. I had been informed otherwise, but was not at liberty to tell the men. "As we sat in our quarters the night of November 10, Col. Ruby D. Garrett, sitrnal officer, caught a message from a German radio station, and we knew then that the Cght was over. The German Ger-man Soldiers' and Sailors' league, a communistic organization, had seized several of the principal radio station towers, and for several days had been sending messages. The operator now was saying that a German envoy would appear over the French lines, and we caught his message clearly. He asked the allies to observe certain signal lights and not shoot the plane down. - "I immediately informed Gen. Malin Craig, chief of staff of the First corps area, but the news already had reached him. The next morning we received word that hostilities would cease at 11 o'clock." tine gains the impression from talking talk-ing with Colonel Hughes that his acceptance ac-ceptance of the news must have been casual He speaks of it without emotion, emo-tion, because, as he says, it occasioned no particular surprise. "Naturally, I was about as happy as a man can be." he admits, "but my principal thought was that now we would have a chance to clean up. It had rained most of the time we were near Sedan. We knew, of course, that we would not be able to go home for a while. Armistice night we kept almost regular reg-ular discipline, although the men were slightly vociferous. They were a -,0XVed to shoo, off pyrotechmcs t . emblazoned the sky for nil!- var.-co.ored lights. Some of the In h miils Ored their mortar guns, and ihe.e were occasional rifle shots, ""our aviators flew like bats .n he ,,,Isk. skimming about, looping, sp r. - " and falling in steep dives that "oUsJ Tdeath-hringing until Ihe Mirmen flattened out and soared again. midst of It men bad long sllei.ces, thinking back to things that had passed. "I walked over to a cross-roads billet bil-let at dusk and stood a moment In silent si-lent reflection. From out of the shadows shad-ows a truck emerged, filled with a gay crowd Intent upon celebration. As 1 stood aside to let it pass, a sentry's challenge rang out. He inquired where the truck's lights were. " 'H 1 !" replied the driver, 'you expect ex-pect me to put on lights In five minutes min-utes when I haven't had any for two years? Get 'outa' our way I' The sentry sen-try grinned acknowledgement and stepped aside." Reminiscences such as these make Armistice day a vital, throbbing, personal per-sonal occasion. Colonel Hughes is only one of millions who, decades hence, will recall Incidents of November 11. 101S. There were soldiers in the roads of France that night who watched old men, boys and women making their way home burdened with luggage; other soldiers who sat at French pianos, pi-anos, romped over the keys, crashed out chords and led a chorus of men who wanted to sing any old song. Ke-estaoiisneci now in men uumvo I hose men will recall how Verdun's bells tolled victory at the end of the war and how the illumination was visible vis-ible for many miles around, even to the Germans going homeward in the east. They will recall how, In devastated devas-tated villages, carpfree buglers marched before shouting, singin-;. dancing columns of French, American. Senegalese and Algerian soldiers and civilian celebrants who kept time with the drum beats and shouted : "The war is over.! Flnl la guerre I Vive la France 1 Vive l'Ainertque !" Serious Recollections. Their tales may even revert to Paris, where President Poincare received Marshal Foch and Premier Clemen-ceau Clemen-ceau read the German conditions, oi they mav center In any of the many war-wrecked countryside homes, whose owners celebrated with haggard fervor. fer-vor. In contemplating the anniversary, one cannot overlook the recollections of the civilized world, either. Its tales of the day are of less partisan, but equally graphic Interest. It saluted in Its heart, eight years ago, the soldiers sol-diers who fought through the years o horror and tragedy for victory. It will do so again this year. Kansas City is a very small nail nf onlv one celebrating nation, but Us voice will be raised In the gen-rl, gen-rl, 1K.clania.io. Will the c.ty re-fiVct re-fiVct soherlv on the occasion? Nil it foH ,..vard the day as Colonel Ilu''hes does? V'e after the years of r-elebrat'ng -,-nr's 'victory, can not yet with cm--,,-e appoint the time when we can "oi -hraie peace." be declares. e ive lloI)J ,tier thun Lurope. vMuch I parent has learned little from the II hut we cannot yet celeb e Armistice day in a spirit that would make it a national event. |