A big thanks to George Harris for the tip on this story.
The last American to die in World War I didn’t really want to fight in the first place — which makes his decision to run ahead toward enemy lines all the more confusing.
Henry Gunther died at 10:59 a.m. on Nov. 11, 1918, less than one minute before the end of the Great War. But it was only one year earlier that Gunther had been demoted after military censors intercepted a letter he sent home that criticized the war.
“You weren’t supposed to bad-mouth the American government,” Jonathan Casey, the Director of Archives and the Edward Jones Research Center at the National World War I Memorial, tells TIME. “You’re supposed to support everything and do what you’re told, otherwise you could get in trouble: and [Gunther] did get in trouble.”
Read the full story of Henry Gunther in Time Magazine.
I don’t know if I feel better or worse. The fact that at any time in our history a person could be in trouble for talking smack about his or her country is disconcerting. On the other hand, perhaps it should serve as a serious warning of times to come.
Look at what happened the day before yesterday to CNN reporter Jim Acosta. He was stripped of his White House press credentials for pushing the President a little too far about the president’s terminology. Making it impossible to do your job is pretty much of a demotion in rank.
Are we looking at some sort of dystopia in our future where there is danger in criticizing your government and its elected officials? I would like to say no but I always keep that scenario in the back of my mind. You never know. One should never grow too complacent. As I age…(yes, I said the A word) I have reflected on my good fortune to have been born in this great democracy called the United States of America. Yes, I have been lucky. I have enjoyed white privilege. Not all Americans have. I have never had to think about danger from my neighbors or my government. Not all Americans have had this luxury. I have always had a roof over my head. Not all Americans have. I have enough food for me and my family. Not all Americans have. I certainly don’t think I will be run out of my country or deported. Not all Americans have this assurance. I don’t expect my door to be rammed in by my government. Some Americans can’t make that claim.
All and all, I am one very fortunate vintage chick. How did I get to be so lucky?
