On November 11, 1918, an armistice agreement ended the First World War. More than 65 million soldiers took part in the war. Eight and a half million soldiers died. Another 21 million suffered wounds and more than 7 million were taken prisoner or went missing. The horrors of this intercontinental conflict should have ended all others.
Nearly four and a half million Americans fought in the battles of this terrible modern war. Arkansas sent nearly 72,000 soldiers. Of those, 2,183 died in combat or from disease and 1,751 suffered wounds or injuries.
Mount Holly Cemetery has 56 residents who fought in World War I. Only one of these, George S. Martin, died in the war. George Martin was born in 1894 and died at Fort Dix, New Jersey September 25, 1918. Like many of his brothers in arms – and many others around the globe that year – Private Martin died of the Spanish flu.
To commemorate the centennial of the armistice, the Arkansas Historic Preservations Programs have invited community organizations to ring bells at “the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.”
Mount Holly’s bell will ring eleven times to remember our World War I veterans. We invite the public to join us in the cemetery for this event at 11:00 a.m. on November 11, 2018.
More information about the commemoration bells can be found at Arkansas World War I Centennial website.