As Lawrence marks Veterans Day

Nicholas R. Loveless of Lawrence
To the editor:
    Next Tuesday, Nov. 11, will mark the 90th anniversary of the Armistice that ended The World War. It was to be the war to end all future wars, but less than a generation later was re-designated as World War I.
   At 11 a.m., Nov. 11, 1918, the big guns on the Western Front in Europe fell silent, bringing an end to the bitter fighting between the Allies and the Central Powers. Altogether, 32 nations had been engaged in both diplomatic and military operations, and the toll on both the military and civilian population was catastrophic.
   The United States entered the fray in April 1917 and America fired its first shot at 6:05 a.m. Oct. 23, 1917, near the French city of Verdun. The fighting that began in 1914 changed the entire way in which wars in the future would be fought. The introduction of the tank, the airplane, machine guns and poison gas were the forerunners of weapons of mass destruction. Before the hostilities ended, over 116,000 American lives were lost in combat and from other causes.
   Over four million troops were mobilized in the United States but today there is only one surviving veteran of that war remaining, Frank W. Buckles, 108, of Charles Town, W.Va. He and his comrades-in-arms — the American Doughboys — turned the tide of battle and brought victory to the Allies.
   The Doughboys endured many hardships in the trenches of France, but they were inspired by the prospect that their sacrifices would bring an end to all future wars. The noble goals of the Treaty of Versailles singed in 1919 assured the world of a lasting peace, but that was not destined to be.
   Before the gaping wounds of Europe had healed, the world was thrust into yet another war of enormous proportions as The World War became World War I and the most recent — World War II. The original holiday, designated as Armistice Day, would later become Veterans Day, a time to honor veterans of all wars.
   Between 1917 and 1918, New Jersey would mobilize 130,000 of its citizens, and in Mercer County, 201 servicemen and four Red Cross nurses died in combat and from other war-related causes. In 1920, the Mercer County Board of Freeholders sought to recognize their sacrifices and erected a monument and a bronze plaque bearing the names of the deceased on Route 1 at Franklin Corner Road. In the 1930s it was relocated further south at Lawrence Township Public School No. 4, and again relocated in 1945 to its present site in front of the municipal building on Route 206.
   American Legion Post 414 and the Lawrence Patriotic Committee will join Lawrence Township and Mercer County officials at the municipal building next Saturday, Nov. 8, to honor and pay tribute to all veterans, but especially to the brave men and women of Mercer County that gave up their lives for our country so many years ago.
Nicholas R. Loveless
Lawrence