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remembering the great war's final fallen. - Maryland Life, Nov-Dec 2008
Save, perhaps, for a few hardcore World War I buffs, Henry N. Gunther is today little known.
But 90 years ago--on Nov. 11, 1918, to be precise--the Baltimorean became the last American, and possibly the last soldier of any nationality, to die in the Great War. One minute before the Armistice was to take effect at 11 a.m., according to official accounts, Gunther, 23, was fatally shot in the left temple as he stormed a German machine-gun nest. He died instantly, not knowing that the conflict was 60 seconds from being over.
a dozen years later, in 1930, the Sgt. Henry Gunther Post #1858 was established in his old neighborhood. As recently as 1983, the post had 420 members. It survives today, but just barely, with a declining roster of 113 (down fromn 141 in 2007) and fewer than a dozen active members....
(The full text and illustrations for this story are not available on-line. The issue of the magazine may be purchased through its web site.)
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