FAYETTEVILLE -- The end of World War I will be remembered with the sound of bagpipes in an early morning ceremony Nov. 11 at the Fayetteville National Cemetery.
The war ended Nov. 11, 1918. Hostilities broke out on July 28, 1914, ignited by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria a month earlier in Sarajevo.
About the cemetery
The Fayetteville National Cemetery is at 700 Government Ave. For more information, call (479) 442-2566.
Source: Staff report
The war was fought between Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire -- known as the Central Powers -- and the British Empire, France, Russia, Italy, Romania, Japan and the United States -- the Allied Powers. The United States entered the war on April 6, 1917.
More than 16 million soldiers and civilians were killed during the war. The United States had more than 116,000 soldier casualties.
"We want people to remember the past," said Charles Adkins, vice chairman of the Fayetteville National Cemetery Advisory Council. "We want to honor those who have kept this country free."
The armistice was signed at 6 a.m. Nov. 11, 1918, according to the National Piping Centre in Glasgow, Scotland. More than 2,000 pipers were killed during the war, according to the National Piping Centre.
The Ozark Highlanders Pipe Band will play "When the Battle's Over" at 6 a.m. as participants move toward the U.S. flag pole at the cemetery. The same song will be played at participating national cemeteries and overseas cemeteries where U.S. troops are buried, Adkins said. The "Battle's Over -- A Nation's Tribute" is being held in Great Britain.
William Robb composed "When the Battle is Over," commonly known to pipers as "The Battle's O'er."
At 6:10 a.m., the Singing Men of Arkansas will sing the national anthem, "God Bless America" and "God Bless the USA."
Stephen Gray, chairman of Fayetteville National Cemetery Advisory Council, will speak at 6:20 a.m. Gray was working on his speech last week, but he had distilled it to a few thoughts he hopes those who attend will remember.
"Wars are horrific and the warriors suffer," Gray said.
World War I was especially vicious with trench warfare, the coming of age of machine gun fire, the introduction of the tank and the use of poison gas.
Gray wants people to think about the men who served and its place in military history.
There aren't any soldiers left from the war, Gray said. "It's a forgotten war because we are so far removed from it."
Letters from the battlefield sent to the home front also will be read at the ceremony, Gray said.
A prayer of remembrance by Chaplain Christopher D. Gueydan with Veterans Healthcare System of the Ozarks will follow the speech, and the Ozark Highlanders will play "Amazing Grace" as the event ends.
A free breakfast will be offered from 6:45 to 8 a.m. at American Legion Post 27, 1195 S. Curtis Ave.
More than 8,800 veterans are buried in the Fayetteville National Cemetery, said Kevin Caillouet, program support assistant at the cemetery. It's not known how many World War I veterans are buried there because of poor record keeping at the time, and because many World War I veterans were buried in family or community cemeteries, Gray said. More than 73,000 Arkansans served during World War I, he said.
World War I was called the War To End All Wars because of its brutality and carnage, but the peace established by the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 didn't last. World War II started Sept. 1, 1939, when Adolph Hitler's Germany invaded Poland.
NW News on 10/29/2018