Local programs commemorate 100th anniversary of WWI Armistice

Community members came together around the county on Monday morning to observe Veteran’s Day, honoring those who fought and sacrificed their lives in service to our country.
 
The program in Grundy Center, presented by the Grundy Center National Honor Society students, specifically focused on the 100th anniversary of the armistice that ended World War I, which was signed in the French town of Compiegne at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month: November 11th, 1918.
 
Known as the Great War or the War to End all Wars, World War I was one of the bloodiest wars in history, claiming 17 million lives from 1914 to 1918. According to historical records, over 500,000 Iowa men registered for the draft and 114,000 served in the armed forced during the war. Of those men, over 3,500 gave their lives in service.
 
In Grundy County, there are 114 World War I veterans buried. During the program, students honored the soldiers who fought in the war, including those who never came home.
 
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In Conrad, BCLUW seniors Leah Mosher and Lucas Halverson shared a quote from former President Ronald Reagan before introducing featured speaker and local American Legion Commander Bob Daniel, who also provided background on WWI, a conflict that arose over the assassination of Austro-Hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand by Serbian nationalists—setting off a chain of events that culminated with the allies of those countries declaring war on each other. The U.S. did not formally join the Allied effort until 1917 after the sinking of the Lusitania.
 
“Without these brave men and women, we would not have BCLUW. We would have no Veterans Day program. We would have no freedom, and we would have no United States of America,” Halverson said. 
 
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