When Henson came home from the war, he did not join a G.A.R. post, so in my mission to honor him for his service, I had to look to general veteran services type medallions in order to put on on his grave.
Henson's wife, Phoebe is buried next to him on the left, and on his right, is his son, Harry, who died February 12, 1872 at age 2 years.
Today, I went to the cemetery and placed a veteran medallion and flag on his grave. My mission is complete. I wanted to honor both my great-great uncle and my great-grandfather who both fought in the civil war once I learned that no memorial was ever placed on their gravesites.
Sometimes setting a goal, taking the right steps, following through, having patience, and praying for a good result is what it takes.
Both my civil war veterans are now honored!
I was watching the noon news when a UPS truck stopped out front of the house. I wasn't expecting anything - some of us seniors are pretty poor at the end of the month (smile).
I opened the box and was surprised to find a U.S. Veterans medallion and stakeholder in the box. I remember just looking at it for a long time.
I had been trying to honor my great-great uncle, who was a civil war veteran, and find a veteran medallion for his grave, without the G.A.R. symbol. In all my family and genealogical investigations, I find no evidence that he was a member of any G.A.R. post. I learned that not all civil war veterans were members of G.A.R.s after the war. My other ancestor, my great-grandfather, was a member of a G.A.R. post after he returned from the war to Greenfield, Ohio.
During a quick trip to the Dollar Store today, I saw small American flags for $1.00 that would fit the holder of the medallion. I purchased one.
Tomorrow I plan to go to the cemetery and put the medallion on his grave and then let the cemetery office know that it is there. They mark their records of veterans accordingly.
I won't reveal here where the medallion came from, because I don't want anyone to think the wrong thing. All I will say is that sometimes there is more than one way to solve a problem. It is not always "my way or the highway" and other's have good ideas that come to fruition through patience and prayer. Fortunately, I am a very patient person and have faith that sometimes gives me inner peace. I will give my appropriate 'thank you's' and make sure they are loudly heard.
Great-great uncle Henson, this one's for you!!
I got three blankets at an auction for $1.00 total. I put one down on the floor for Duke to make him more comfortable. As soon as I put it down, big sister Miss Kitty had to come check it out first.
Duke says, isn't this suppose to be mine?
Ok, I moved, staring contest!
Oh, boy, now it's mine!
Soon they will share it I'm sure.
As I was driving down to Greenfield on Sunday, I noticed that the purple people eater building I wrote about on March 8, 2014 (CLICK HERE) has been given a splash of lime green embellishment.
Both sides of the building have a privacy fence in the back painted in lime green, and a little trim on top of the the sides.
I am still waiting to see if the business will be opening as I was early told.
Then I learned that a great-great-uncle on my maternal grandmothers side was also a Civil War veteran. When I visited his gravesite, the same void of acknowledgement was missing.
As the oldest living relative of each of these veterans, I decided to make it my personal mission to get acknowledgement for their service. I started with my great-great-uncle since he was born and raised in Fayette County where I reside. I obtained a copy of his death certificate from my local health department, and printed out a copy of his service from the online Civil War military records.
When I went to my local Veterans Service Office to inquire about obtaining a flag-stake medallion, I was told that they could not help me, with no reason given. Therefore, I did some research on veterans services and learned that Congress changed the law effective July 1, 2009 so that the only veterans who could receive monuments or medallions had to be buried after 1990 and be requested by the next of kin. I have no idea why they would not just tell me that at the office.
Personally, I didn't think that was fair to genealogists and others who learn of veterans in their lineage. So I decided to write to Ohio State Senator Sherrod Brown and voice my concerns. After sending my letter, I learned that another Ohio Senator recently introduced H.R. 2018 Honor Those Who Served Act of 2014 which would revise the "next of kin" policy of the 2009 law and allow a person to go back 62 years to obtain medallions for deceased veterans.
When I learned of H.R.2018, I wrote a followup letter to Senator Brown. However, before his office received my second letter, I was contacted by Senator Brown's office via email and asked to call a contact person there. I called and was told that my concerns were being addressed and reminded of the law change of 2009 and the new bill just introduced. I asked if my second letter had been received and it had not; I was asked to send it via email to my contact person, which I did. I was then notified that my letters were being sent to the proper channel in Washington D.C. to be processed so I could obtain the necessary medallion. I do not need a G.A.R. medallion for my great-great-uncle, because I have no proof he was a member of a G.A.R. post. However, I do have proof that my great-grandfather was a member of a G.A.R. post in the county of his residence.
My second goal was to obtain the G.A.R. medallion for my great-grandfather's gravesite. I did not yet have a copy of his death certificate, but had the proof of G.A.R. membership. I also have his original G.A.R. medal from the Civil War.
While waiting for my request to be processed in Washington D.C. through the proper channels (everyone knows how slow they can sometimes be), a friend contacted me and said she would get me a medallion. Later she said she contacted a State Representative's office and was given no assistance. (At least my contact obtained a positive result and paperwork is being processed through proper channels.) I'm a very patient person and was willing to wait for the 'wheels to turn,' so to speak.
In the meantime, around the beginning of this month, I got very ill and have not been able to write any blogs, especially about my efforts in this matter. One evening while I was lying on the couch in great pain, my friend said she wanted to bring me some melon. When she arrived she also had a G.A.R. medallion she had obtained. I thanked her for it and the melon, however, due to my pain and suffering at the time, I was not able to be as demonstrative as she hoped. I was later chastised for that. I have since apologized for not being more vocal and 'huggy' at the time, due to my condition. I'm sure she had no idea of the great pain I was in at the time. It is really hard to be cheerful and upbeat when your body is being overtaken by agony due to the incompetence of others. Maybe someday she will understand empathy.
On Friday, I was able to get in touch with my doctor's office and I got something to get me through the weekend. Therefore, on Sunday, after church, I went to the Third Annual Cemetery Stroll at the Greenfield Cemetery Honoring our Civil War Veterans sponsored by the Greenfield Historical Society, of which I am a member.
I was not able to stay long, but I did get the brochure, walk to my great-grandfather's grave, and put the G.A.R. medallion on his grave. I had my own flag that fit the holder so I also installed the flag and gave him my gratitude for his service. It was all I could do to get back home and back to the couch.
Goal number two was accomplished prior to my goal number one, so now I will refocus on the contact name and number I have been given in Washington D.C. and get an update on the progress of my request. I have taken on this task because I feel it is the responsibility of the living to honor our deceased, and especially our veterans. Our heritage is important.
When I bought the large crate second-hand, I guess I didn't realize it did not have the pan that goes in the bottom (or it's lost in the garage). So I improvised and put a blue velour blanket on the bottom and put his two mats on top of that for comfort. The white one is from the medium crate and the striped one is the one he was trained to lie on in the dining room when he first got here. So he will have familiar smells to his new bed.
Today he has a new crate and a bowl for his toys. I used to have 11 toys scattered all over the dining area floor, and after he learns to empty the bowl, we can work on training to pick them up and put them away.
He now knows how to lie "down" on command. He also knows "sit" and "paw" (for shake). We worked on that training the past week or so. He is so smart and picks up on things fast. I have yet to work on "stay" and "heel" but they are on my to-do list. I think he is doing remarkably well for four months old. It only took (within) 30 days for housebreaking and he has the cutest whine when he wants to go outside. He hasn't yet learned to bark like a big dog.
He keeps me busy, happy, and engaged in new learning. I am so glad he's here and fits in so well in the family. I look forward to many more days of successful training and bonding.
My little puppy Duke has now grown into a big boy.
He just turned four months and had his second set of puppy shots at the vet. On his first visit, he weighed 14 pounds at 10 weeks old. At 16 weeks old, he had almost doubled in weight. He weighed 26 pounds Friday. He is definitely eating well.
He loves to play in the back yard and is still picking up the twigs from around the tree.
The first tennis ball he received is now bare rubber. The cover has been chewed off and thrown away. He has ten toys in the kitchen and we play 'round them all up' each night before bedtime.
Advancing from my last blog report on Duke, he now has been trained to give me his paw when I say PAW. The next command he will learn starting this week will be lie-down. He is smart and learning fast.
That's my BIG BOY!
As I walked past the pharmacy counter on the way to the dog food area, I heard two kids running around yelling and screaming and carrying on something terrible. The mother had finally corraled one from running all over. I proceeded on down the aisle.
I had to make a stop in the toothpaste aisle on my way to the cashier. That aisle is closer to the pharmacy and the kids were still yelling, screaming at the top of their lungs and carrying on. It was a store distraction and totally uncalled for because it meant no parental control.
As I looked for my item, I quietly said to myself “if the parent can't control them take them home.” A woman in the same aisle was standing closer than I first saw and she said she totally agreed with me. She said if they were her grandkids, she would have beat them by now (with a smile meaning to discipline).
As I walked toward the cashier, one of the screaming kids came towards me and threw a package of bandaids in my cart and said, “you can have these.” I took them out of the cart, handed them back and said tell your mother to control you or take you home. I was quite perturbed by this time. The mother came to retreive her child as I walked on to check out.
When I got to the cashier, I saw another cashier not at a register and asked if there was a manager handy. She got one and I told the manager what transpired. She also could hear the screaming kids from the cash register area. She went to investigate. It caused quite a distraction and upset many customers.
As I checked out and headed to my vehicle, I heard noisy kids following me at a distance with the mother trying to urge them on toward their vehicle. I quickly put my package in my vehicle and left the parking lot. I did not see any packages in the mother's hands, so I can only assume that the store distraction was handled by the manager suggesting that they leave the store, which they promptly did.
It is really a shame that parents have no control over their children (these two kids looked about 6 years old) in this generation. In my generation, if you made a fuss you were promptly disciplined, taught manners and respect. Manners and respect have gone away and it is no wonder so many kids grow up heading to juvenile detention.
Parents – control your children; teach your children proper manners and respect for their elders. Some day you will be proud you did so.
On one of the nice days we had recently, with summer-like temperatures, I noticed some naked ladies growing. I didn't think they would grow this late in the year.
My favorite flower is on the porch and it has a flowering top that has sprouted up lately. This mild summer has been good for the air conditioning bill, but we really need some good hot sun to make more flowers grow.
