A Centennial Worth Remembering

This Thanksgiving weekend I am taking some time to reflect on the activities that took place during the Centennial of the Armistice. I thought this would be a good opportunity to journal my thoughts and also acknowledged the many people who took time to remember the service and sacrifice of those who served our nation, 100 years ago. While I can't possibly name everyone, I do want to put a spotlight on several friends that helped with our local endeavors.

My years of research about the veterans involved in the Great War, and discovering a large community of people that have a similar interest in this topic, has given me a great appreciation for all the planning and execution that took place across the nation that week, and in our region. Today, I give thanks, and must say, this was a Centennial worth remembering!

November 7
My countdown to Veterans Day started with an invitation to be a guest speaker at the Penn Trafford High School Veterans Day program in Harrison City, PA. The public was invited to hear two ensembles, jazz and symphonic, perform patriotic songs and recite poems to honor the service of our veterans. The students acknowledged the 100th anniversary of the Great War with a rendition of George Cohan's Over There, and a reading of John McCrea's poem In Flanders Fields. Band Director David Cornelius took the opportunity to invite the public to the Trafford Memorial Park 'Bells of Peace' ceremony on November 11. Following my address, the entire assembly was invited by the band director to gather outside the high school, near the flagpole, where the 1910 Trafford School Bell was tolled, taps played, with the event ending on an upbeat rendition of John Philip Sousa's Washington Post March.

On my way outside to hear the bell tolled, I was approached by a high school student who was very eager to tell me about his interest in WWI. He loved reading about the subject and told me he had a full Doughboy uniform in his collection. It was encouraging to hear him speak of his interest in studying the topic. I was also very grateful to learn that all the donations collected from the concert that evening were going to be given to the WWI Centennial Commission for their efforts to build the WWI Memorial in Washington DC. This was the start of a great week of commemoration.

November 9
My friend and fellow Marine, Mike Castagnero, asked me to participate in the Gateway Middle School Veterans Day program in Monroeville, PA. I was honored to give a talk to an auditorium packed with fellow veterans and family members of the students. It was my understanding that Gateway teacher, Mrs. Kelly Perry, organizes this annual program, and the students are energized to participate every year. Wow, was I was impressed. A wonderful event. Aside from the student performances, I was delighted to find out that one of my clients, a World War II veteran, was asked by his granddaughter to speak at the event. While I knew that he was a veteran, I was unaware of his vast military experiences, and I came to my own realization that I need to ask more questions of those of whom I know that have served. It seems so simple to do, and I'm going to make that commitment to ask more questions about a veterans service and listen. Respect.

November 10
While this day would have typically been spent celebrating my Corps birthday, it was jammed packed with other events for my family while we were in Washington DC. Upon arrival, our first stop was to the future site of the National World War One Memorial to be built in Pershing Park.

The exhibit was called, "A First Look," and gave visitors a preview of the future memorial using a model with a video vignette to describe the creative process and why it was necessary to build this memorial. It was a great first look at the future memorial.

I did not want this weekend to be entirely focused on the history of WWI, and only on what I wanted to see while we were in DC. I asked my son Jacob what he wanted to visit while we were there. He chose the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. November 9-10 happened to be the 80th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the "Night of Broken Glass." While I know that Jacob has an interest in the history of World War II, visiting this memorial museum, just weeks after the events that occurred at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, just seemed right.

Our visit was oddly validated when we checked our coats upon arrival. My son Jacob and I have a game of texting each other the number 313 when we see it appear in our everyday lives. He knows my obsession with researching the 313th Machine Gun Battalion, and when he was given the coat tag number 313 that afternoon, it made both of us smile in a place that is hard to smile.

Our final experience in Washington that day was to attend the Church of the Epiphany to hear a performance by the New Orchestra of Washington entitled End of the War to End All Wars, Commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the End of WWI. Interestingly, this happens to be the church that General Pershing married Helen Warren. Well, after a phenomenal performance, and as people were leaving the church, I asked the composer, Joseph Turrin, if he would take a photo with Jacob. Turrin is an acclaimed composer, and I let him know that Jacob is an aspiring musician (you know, the sometimes embarrassing moments that proud fathers tend to do). Anyway, meeting him and allowing Mr. Turrin to give Jacob a few words of encouragement made it a special evening to remember.

November 11

We attended the Washington National Cathedral's Sacred Service on Sunday, Armistice Day. This ceremony far exceeded my expectations and was the highlight of our trip. I commented to my wife that the grandeur of the event made it feel as if we were a European cathedral with all the pomp and circumstance one might experience in a ceremony befitting the British Royals. The planning and execution of the event must have taken a phenomenal amount of time. The organizers were right on schedule when the cathedral bell tolled 21 times in the moment of remembrance. We had the luxury of a printed program that went along with the ceremony, making it extra special to follow along with the special attendees.

The hour and a half service seemed to fly by leaving me wanting more stories and music. I was also happy to finally meet the famous (in podcast land) Theo Mayer and his wife. I think I've listened to nearly all of his WW1CC podcasts during my commutes to work.  It was very nice to have had the opportunity to thank him for his work with the Commission. The entire ceremony can now be viewed online at the World War One Commemorative Service.

My family and I returned to Pittsburgh later that day. While I was happy to be in Washington, it was also hard being away from home and not able to participate in two local commemorations that I helped organize. However, I am very proud, but not surprised, of the level of dedication given by the many people of Trafford and Irwin who commemorated the event.

In Trafford, Reynold Peduzzi, Curt Stemmerich, Kurt DeMarchi, Tammi Demarchi, and Shane DeMarchi of the Trafford Veterans Memorial Renovation committee helped to organized the 'Bells of Peace' event and took active parts in the ceremony. Bob Kozubal of the Trafford Historical Society read the poem In Flanders Fields. I believe this was an important reading to acknowledge all the deceased, but in particular, Nicola Elmo, the last Trafford soldier added to the WWI memorial who is buried in Flanders Fields American Cemetery in Belgium.  My dad, Victor Capets, a member of the Forbes Trail Marine Corps League gave the prayer. Other contributors were Jim Drnjevich, Trafford American Legion, the Penn Trafford Community Band, and the Honor Guard of the American Legion Gold Star Post 820. Chuck Sessa ended the program with everyone joining in the song God Bless America. The 1910 Trafford school bell was tolled 21 times as part of the 'Bells of Peace' remembrance, and the local Pittsburgh News Station (WPXI) captured the video and played portions of the event on the evening news. I am very grateful to have had the support of many dedicated friends from Trafford.

I also believed it to be essential to hold this special centennial ceremony in the Borough of Trafford because the World War I Memorial in this park was designated as an official WWI Centennial memorial, one of only 100 such memorials designated by the WWI Centennial Commission in the United States. 

In Irwin, a World War I Armistice Film Festival was held at The Lamp Theatre. I made a donation to the WWI Centennial Commission from the proceeds of my book sales, and in turn, I was asked if I wanted to participate in the film festival being offered by the Commission. I contacted Danelle Haggerson at the Lamp Theatre who loved the idea. An article was published in the Tribune-Review by Rex Rutkoski, Lamp Theatre film festival puts spotlight on World War I. Carl Huszar of the Norwin Historical Society kicked off the event with a program that discussed the history of WWI as it related to the local community. Rachel Good sang our National Anthem, and the Lamp Theatre used the WW1CC 'Bells of Peace' mobile app for the bell tolling ceremony. Members of the Irwin American Legion Post and the Irwin VFW Post were also invited to participate in the event.

November 12
I was asked by the Irwin VFW Post Commander Don Kattic, a former Marine, to address the Irwin VFW's Veterans Day ceremony held on Monday. I was honored to receive the invitation and spoke about the namesake of their VFW, J. Howard Snyder, the first soldier from Irwin who was killed while serving with the 320th Infantry, 80th Division. Snyder was on the same transport ship as my grandfather when the Division sailed to France in May 1918.

I was reflecting on what it must have been like to hear the church bells ringing out in the communities across the United States on November 11, 1918, with the citizens of Irwin also celebrating the end of the war. I then thought of the Snyder family living in Irwin. How did they feel? I was immediately filled with emotion and had to stop and gather my thoughts. I wasn't expecting that to happen. I was also thinking about the portrait of this young man who hangs on the wall of the VFW. Later that week, during Irwin's Light Up Night parade, a gentleman who was at the VFW ceremony stopped me to express his thanks for my speaking at the VFW. He told me that the pause in my talk, when I started to talk about the Snyder family, showed my sincerity and he too got choked up thinking about the sacrifices of this family. This encounter was very meaningful to me. It validated that my message of remembrance was well received by members of the community.

November 13

My final event to commemorate the Centennial came on Tuesday. I was asked by a dear friend, Eddie Roberts, to address a Veterans Day program he organized at the Bethlen Communities in Ligonier, PA. I told him, just a few days earlier, that an announcement appeared on TribLive that I was going to be speaking at the Irwin VFW. The strange coincidence was that the stock photo the Trib used for the announcement was a photo taken from a past Veterans Day ceremony held at Bethlen Communities. In any case, I was delighted to address the many veterans and guests that attended the Bethlen program. Eddie and his peers worked very hard to create an impressive display that filled an entire room honoring the service of veterans having ties to Bethlen.

I was given a peek into the room that houses the Bethlen Archives and had a bit of envy knowing that there is so much history in that room, yet to be discovered. I was also honored to be introduced to Rev. Gabor Nitsch, Director of Pastoral Care and the pastor of the Hungarian Reformed Church. He shared an interesting tie to the Centennial events when he told me that his wife is a descendant of Count Istvan Tisza, a former prime minister of Hungary. Tisza was assassinated on October 31, 1918, during the Aster Revolution, just days before the end of the Great War (it occurred on the same day that Hungary terminated its political union with Austria). I have to admit, I did not know the story, and was fascinated to hear him describe these events that took place 100 years ago.

While I know that I probably failed to mention the name of someone who contributed to the Centennial events, I do apologize, and I do sincerely wish to express my utmost admiration to all of my friends, old and new, who took time to commemorate this historic Centennial. For each of us, it was personal in our own way, and I thank you for honoring all those who served. Lest We Forget.