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As It Was: Gold Beach Commemorates Armistice Day in 1934

On a stormy day in 1934, the Southern Oregon coastal town of Gold Beach held an Armistice Day program in the community hall, followed by an outdoor flag-raising.

Armistice Day, renamed Veterans Day in 1954 in the United States, commemorates the end of World War I on Nov. 11, 1918.  The Gold Beach ceremony was held the day after the official date, which fell on a Sunday.

The Gold Beach Women’s Club had purchased the flag that was raised on a new flagpole provided by the Veterans of Foreign Wars.  

The main speaker, VFW Post Commander J.C. Johnson, said VFW members and a few surviving Civil War veterans were the only ones who had first-hand knowledge of battle conditions.  Johnson’s speech emphasized deportation of “radical foreigners” who advocated overthrow of the U.S. government and the elimination of profit in war and war materials.

During a lull in the storm, participants went outside to witness the flag raising, embellished by accompanying bugle calls.  The flag bearer and color guards were veterans dressed as sailors and in uniforms of the Spanish-American War and World War I.
 

Source: "Flag Raising on Armistice Day." Curry County Reporter, 15 Nov. 1934, p. 1.

Laurel earned a Bachelor’s degree in Geography from Humboldt State. Her research efforts as a volunteer for the Curry Historical Society produced numerous newsletter articles and exhibits and earned her a reputation as a seasoned local history buff. Laurel is the author of "Renderings from the Gold Beach Pioneer Cemetery", a 50-page booklet containing a walking tour and snippets about the lives and times of folks buried there. She is also a contributing writer to Oregon Coast Magazine.