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The end of World War I was at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918. Just 3 months later, my grandfather was born. His uncle was off to war, encountering the mustard gas that he would suffer the effects from for years.
Before genealogy, I wouldn’t be able to tell you when WWI ended. Now I have an anchor: Grampa’s birthday. Before genealogy, I would only know a few veterans in my life. Now I have many. Genealogy doesn’t just bring us perspective on our own families, but also events of the past and how they fit. And Armistice Day (now Veterans Day) is one of those events that makes me stop and think.
The agreement to stop fighting was signed between Germany and the Allied forces. It was signed on a train car in France at 5:00 a.m. on November 11, 1918. However, the fighting didn’t stop until 11:00 a.m. nearly 3,000 soldiers died in those last hours, with Henry N. Gunther being the last American killed in the war. He died one minute before the time of cease fire.
Henry Nicholas John Gunther was born on June 6, 1895 (just 6 months older than my great grandfather) in Baltimore, Maryland to George Gunther and Lina Roth, both children of German immigrants. Henry was a bookkeeper and clerk at the bank and was in the Knights of Columbus, a Roman Catholic order. He was drafted in September 1917 and assigned to the 313th Infantry Regiment, where he was promoted and then demoted when he complained of conditions in France.
On that final day, Henry approached a German roadblock in France and charged, despite knowing the war was ending in one minute. The German soldiers tried to shoo him away, but he fired shots and was taken out instantly.
Henry was engaged before going off to war and who knows what his own family tree would look like if he had descendants like me. My own great grandfather, only 6 months younger than Henry, had 5 children, 14 grandchildren, 29 great grandchildren, at least 30 great-great grandchildren, and several great-great-great grandchildren. Makes me realize how lucky I am to be here and to be able to have known my great-great grandfather.
Sources:
- Davis, M. (2018, November 9). Records shed light on last American killed in World War I. U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved from https://www.archives.gov/news/articles/last-american-death-wwi
- Greenspan, R. E. (2018, November 9). The mysterious story of the last American soldier to die in World War I. TIME. Retrieved from https://time.com/5444257/last-american-wwi-henry-gunther/
- Find a Grave. (n.d.). SGT Henry Nicholas John Gunther (1895-1918) [Memorial #16204809]. Retrieved from https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/16204809/henry_nicholas_john-gunther
- Library of Congress. (1918, November 14). Evening star (Washington, D.C.) [Newspaper]. Retrieved from https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn84026688/1918-11-14/ed-1/?sp=1&q=armistice&st=pdf&r=-0.244,-0.162,1.488,1.488,0
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NOV
2025