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ratt_man t1_iwo4zad 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

He wanted to, he had been busted down to private from sargeant a short time prior. Some say he did the suicidial charge to regain his honor

Suddenly, Gunther jumped up and charged the machine guns. His fellow
soldiers shouted for him to stop, as did the Germans. In fact, the
machine gunners stood up and waved, urging him to turn around. Then,
Gunther fired a shot. The Germans had no choice. They fired back in a
five round burst.  One bullet struck Gunther in the left temple, and he
fell to the ground. Those who were there swore that the rumbling of
artillery stopped the very moment his body hit the earth.

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Jaded_Prompt_15 t1_iwo6nlh wrote

He fought thru WW1...

He was probably legally insane by today's standards and just couldn't imagine life without war.

He might have had CTE from the constant explosions and gunfire.

He might have been trying to get last second revenge for friends who died.

Who knows why he did it, but there are lots of things that could have made it seem like a good idea at the time.

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ratt_man t1_iwoci0z wrote

>He fought thru WW1...

no he had only been in europe for 5 months, most of that was spent behind the lines as supply sargeant. Until he got demoted and sent to the trenchs, dont get me wrong in the trenches must of been hell my grandfather spent a week in the trenches during the somme before being wounded. So not calling him out or anything but to say he fought through WW1 is not true

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minkju t1_iwodnc1 wrote

US soldiers who fought in the war were there for a couple months to maybe around a year. He definitely could imagine life without war.

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swanqueen109 t1_iwowfm9 wrote

5 months in that trench hell are enough to become insane.

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minkju t1_iwpr8y4 wrote

Oh for sure, all it takes is just one horrible day to change your life. He got sent to the trenches at the very end after working supply lines. My point was that the original commenter made it seem like everyone who was a World War One vet came out like some totally changed person who saw nothing but non stop trench warfare, when that really wasn’t the case at all

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