Joseph Sabino Mistick: A lesson on patience from Henry Gunther

When Henry Gunther, a young American Army sergeant, was killed on a battlefield in the Argonne Forest at 10:59 a.m. Nov. 11, 1918, he became the last American killed in World War I, and his death made no sense at all.

Earlier that day, before sunrise in the woods outside of Paris, representatives of the warring nations had met in a railroad car and signed the armistice agreement that ended the war. That should have been it, but a decision was made to announce that the fighting and killing would not cease until 11 a.m., some six hours after the war officially ended.

Even when they knew their prayers had been answered and all they had to do was lie low and wait, some soldiers from both sides took needless chances. Henry took one last charge at the German troops, ignoring shouts from both sides to simply stop. He was shot down in the mud, one minute away from what might have been a long and happy life.

During those six hours, nearly 3,000 soldiers died, including 320 Americans, mostly because they or their commanders could not muster the patience to hunker down a little while longer when peace was mere moments away.

And that is the same patience we all need now, since our prayers have been answered and we know the vaccines that will save us from the deadly coronavirus are ready and coming.

There is a temptation to ease up and take a few chances now that we can see the end. It has been such a hard grind for so long that the good news is pulling us to get back to the lives we miss. But we must get tougher for just a little bit longer. Nobody wants to be the Henry Gunther of this pandemic.

Now that fall is here, along with Thanksgiving and then Christmas, we are looking at a surge upon a surge upon a surge. Already we are getting sick and dying in record numbers, hitting a new high every day. In Allegheny County, 40% of the total number of cases came in November with a daily average of over 650 cases last week.

Nationally, we broke grim records with 2,760 deaths in one day and an unprecedented flood of new cases and hospitalizations. If we stay on this path, according to CDC head Dr. Robert Redfield, 450,000 Americans may be gone by February. All of this can happen, even while the vaccines that will stop this are clearly in sight.

We just have to hunker down a bit longer. As Redfield said last week, “It’s not a fait accompli. We’re not defenseless. The truth is that mitigation works.” That means wearing a mask, avoiding large gatherings and staying home.

When the good news broke about the vaccines, one of the oldest cliches in warfare was resurrected: “There is a light at the end of the tunnel.” That’s true, as far as it goes. But we are still in the tunnel, and we all have to do what we can for a little while longer before we are in the light.