World War I the war as being when the Versailles Treaty was signed in 1919, which was when many of the troops serving abroad finally returned home; by contrast, most commemorations of the war's end concentrate on the armistice of 11 November 1918. Legally, the formal peace treaties were not complete until the last, the Treaty of Lausanne, was signed. Under its terms, the Allied forces left Constantinople on 23 August 1923. After the war, the Paris Peace Conference imposed a series of peace treaties on the Central Powers officially ending the war. The 1919 Treaty of Versailles dealt with Germany and, building
International World War Peace Tree years old. The sign in front of the tree is frequently adorned with small American flags, particularly around patriotic holidays such as Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Veterans Day. The tree has its origins in Germany. It was brought to the United States in 1912 as a seedling by Joseph Freudenburg, prior to World War I. When the treaty with Germany was signed in 1918, a picnic was held on the property of his sister-in-law Mrs. Wortman, and during the picnic, Freudenburg's tree was transplanted to its current location at the intersection of St. Joseph and Orchard in celebration of