Evening star., 1943-11-11
Britons 10 Celebrate
This Armistice Day
With Mounting Hope
BY RUSSELL LANDSTROM.

Associated Press War Correspondent.
LONDON, Nov. 1.-THE capital
OF the world rejoiced Is years ag,
that the deadliest war of all tim,
was ended.
In Paris, four years of fightins
on their own earth had sobered thu
people, but the realization that thu
fury was ended released their high.
est spirits.
Belgium had survived an ordea
which turned much of her soil int
a grisly sepulchre and infected the
air with rot. The mood of Belgium
generally was quieter.
In London, the starch in tht
British facade dissolved and there
was kind of madness in Trafalgar
Square, Piccadilly Circus, Leicester
Square, the Strand, Fleet street.
Washington, New York and MAR
street gave themselves up to riotous
release.
Soldiers Skeptical.
In the cities of the defeated, ordi.
nary folks were glad.
Soldiers at the front, meantime
invoked that skepticism which they
early learned to cultivate to spare
themselves deep disappointment.
The war over? Yeah" jeerec
the American soldiers, and haven't
you heard, the Kaiser's just COM
mitted suicide, and we're all going
to have turkey and trimmings fol-
Thanksgiving! When does the boat
leave for home, buddy?"
A peace rumor spread in mid
October in the Argonne. Over
joyed, some of the men got careless
and showed lights. German planes
dropped few eggs around our po-
sitions and German artillery pep
pered us with livelier accents.
So as late as those first days of
November the men talked of COM
ing offensives in the spring, and
wondered where they would be then
Or whether they even would be.
We had shifted up to Belgium by
that time, to the Ypres-Lys sector,
which reeked of death and torment.
The end of the war seemed a long
way ahead.
But in less than a week it came.
Peace Was Reality.
Peace was no dream. Not then
The dream lasted, despite great
deal of violent retching and toss
ing, until a certain autumn when
the world was filled again with the
sound Of cannon fire.
Then that Armistice, Day of 1889
Knocked the dream.
They called it phoney war that
winter. 1t was fine to hear Lupino
Lane, the English comedian, sing
well Hang Out the Washing on
the Siegfried Line"
A year afterward only the rene
gade Lord Haw Haw, yammering
on the Berlin radio, thought of
bringing up the subject again. He
taunted the British with the big
words that they had sung the pre-
vious winter.
More and more Armistice Day was
becoming a day of heartache. In
l94l people said What shall it
be like. when this war ends, and we
celebrate as we did in 1882"
Some thought there would be such
revelry as the country never had
witnessed. Others commented
gravely: This is different. People
won't go wild this time. They'll
just want to be by themselves
African Landings Recalled.
Thrills of far wider hope-al-
most of certain success-electrif1ed
the Allied peoples on November II,
1912. The Americans and British
were in North Africa. Rommel was
on the run. The Russians never
would yield Stalingrad. Everywhere
in the non-AXis world faith was re-
kindled. Scuttling of the French
feet and German occupation of all
France merely proved Hitlers des-
perate situation.
Not until such a high moment
in history would the prophets of
parliament and press dare voice un-
equivocal confidence in the success
OF their cause. Not until then could
a composer write I'm Going to Get
Lit Up When the Lights Go On in
London song which became the
rage in Britain.
People we're thinking that they
might see a new Armistice Day
worth celebrating.
Back and forth, of course, the ar
gument swings, and none can call
the shots.
On only one point do these an
slysts Of l943 agree-that defeat for
the Allies now is out of the ques-
ton.
Common Man Is Hopeful.
The common man lets them all
talk. He ruminates over pint of
beer and concludes that maybe he
has about as much clairvoyance as
they have. He would not be sur
prised if this were the last war;
like Armistice Day in Europe.
The eagerness for peace has
prompted some premature but un-
derstandable actions. Hotels have
reservations for Armistice Day din
ners. Arrangements have been made