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deegeese t1_iwo3wfg wrote

Reply to comment by TheNobleCannibal in TIL: WW1 Armistice Day was Nov 11th, fighting was to cease at 11:00 AM. An American solider charged a German machine gun nest with 16 mins left, and died at 10:59 AM. The last soldier to die in WWI. by wats6831

I bet if he really wanted to, he coulda found a way to procrastinate for 16 minutes.

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TheNobleCannibal t1_iwo4c8f wrote

Cowardice in the face if the enemy was punishable by death during ww1. So it was either a small chance of survival in the charge or no chance by being shot by your own officer.

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pupsinpajamas t1_iwo4mk2 wrote

Nobody ordered him to do it. Maybe read the article?

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ivanthemute t1_iwo4x4w wrote

Not just that, but his unit was given orders to stand fast, don't advance, don't retreat, repel any attacks but don't attack further.

He disobeyed a legal order and could have caught a court martial (NJP didn't exist back then) had he survived.

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SteakHoagie666 t1_iwo9hnj wrote

Always love the reddit historians who try to teach us a lesson without even reading the fucking article. The Germans who killed him even waved at him to stop. His unit was told not to advance. His unit tried to stop him. He just did it.

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deegeese t1_iwo50ay wrote

So if someone ordered you to charge a machine gun nest 16 minutes before armistice, you seriously wouldn’t be able to think of an excuse?

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dougaderly t1_iwob9et wrote

Fuck I can tie my shoes for twenty minutes if it means not charging a machine gun nest

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TheNobleCannibal t1_iwo5tuj wrote

No I would have kept fighting like everyone else.

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deegeese t1_iwoaykd wrote

Cool, cool.

Personally I’d rather go on living.

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Ryjinn t1_iwoie8f wrote

But everyone else wasn't fighting lol

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