# Sad and pointless

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sad-and-pointless/579674>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [April 25, 2011, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sad-and-pointless/579674 "2011-04-25T16:23:48Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\
**Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sad-and-pointless/579674/1 "2011-04-25T16:23:48Z")

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Executed for desertion on 7th November 1918- Mr Louis Harris. The war was over in 4 days.

[Here.](http://www.shotatdawn.info/page59.html)

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**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\
**Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sad-and-pointless/579674/2 "2011-04-25T16:30:39Z")

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Missed edit. More correctly “before the Armistice was signed”.

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**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\
**Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sad-and-pointless/579674/3 "2011-04-25T19:57:04Z")

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All I saw at that link was a list of British soldiers shot for various offenses.

What is Harris’ story? It would help to know whether his death was actually pointless or not.

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**Author:** ![Bootis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e8c25b/32.png) [@Bootis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootis)\
**Post date:** [April 26, 2011, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sad-and-pointless/579674/4 "2011-04-26T22:10:13Z")

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One poor fellow was executed for sleeping. Yikes.

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**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\
**Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sad-and-pointless/579674/5 "2011-04-27T04:44:54Z")

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> [@Bootis](#):
>
> One poor fellow was executed for sleeping. Yikes.

Was he the world’s first Air Traffic Controller?

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**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\
**Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sad-and-pointless/579674/6 "2011-04-27T06:12:55Z")

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Sorry folks, I haven’t been here a few days.

**Baker** , I’m not certain of the details of Mr. Harris "crime’ but I notice he was a recidivist for deserting. I think the shame is in being shot four days before the combatants laid down their arms.

**Panache** - 🙂