North Carolina Casualties on November 11, 1918

As part of the state of North Carolina's official commemoration of the Armistice that brought an end to the fighting in World War I, we want to share what is our officially-compiled list of those North Carolinians who died, whether in combat or by other means, on November 11, 1918. These were not the last casualties of the war, as many North Carolinians remained in the U.S. Army of Occupation in Europe through the summer of 1919. However, this list is a reminder that although the world celebrated the end of the war that day and in the days following November 11, a number of families in North Carolina were mourning that their loved ones never got a chance to see the ceasation of hostilities and experience peace.

These 29 individuals are surely not all of the North Carolinians that were killed in military service on November 11; they are just the ones which we can prove for sure that their death date is indeed on that day. It is well documented that many Allied servicemen who died on November 11, 1918, were in fact listed on headstones in battlefield graves and on death records as having died on November 10, 1918. As reported in a November 8, 2018, Associated Press article by Raf Casert, many of the white-cross headstones in WWI military cemeteries in Europe list death dates for those who died on November 11 in order to somewhat ease the mourning of the servicemen's families--not to see how close to the end of the war they came--as well as to cover over the decision-making processes of military commanders bent on one last fight. Such was the case with U.S. General John J. Pershing, who had to eventually explain to the U.S. Congress the reasons behind the high number of last-day losses on November 11.

However, this is the best list which has been able to be compiled to this point. In honor of those brave North Carolinians who gave their life in the waning moments of the war, we extend our heartful gratitude and condolensces to the families on this centennial anniversary of their deaths.

*Taken from North Carolina Service Individuals Killed during World War I List, compiled by LeRae Umfleet, North Carolina Department of Cultural and Natural Resources and President of the N.C. WWI Centennial Commemoration Committee.