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Henry Gunther, The Demoted Soldier Believed To Be The Last American Killed In World War I
A young man hoping to regain his lost rank made a desperate decision in the waning seconds of the war that cost him his life
World War I was a horrible conflict. Bringing war to global theaters for the first time in history, death and destruction reigned for years until a resolution was finally reached. In its literal waning moments, a demoted soldier named Henry Gunther is believed to have been the last American to die before peace was reached due to his over the top efforts to reclaim his rank.
Gunther was born to German immigrant parents in Baltimore in 1895. He had a modest upbringing and didn’t immediately join the war effort. However, he was drafted in 1917 as part of the 313th Infantry Regiment, which was dubbed “Baltimore’s Own.”
Serving as a supply sergeant who provided clothing to his unit, he deployed to France in 1918. Unfortunately, conditions were brutal, leading to him writing a letter to a friend back home where he described the misery of trench warfare and urged that the best course of action was to avoid military service if at all possible. The missive was intercepted and read by an Army postal censor, which resulted in Gunther being demoted to…
