Memorial Day was set aside by the United States of America as a day to honor and pay respect to the fallen hero’s that proudly served our country. Originally called Decoration Day it was thought into being by General John A. Logan, who, on May 5, 1868 stated “The 30th of May, is designated for the purpose of strewing flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land”. It became the official national holiday as we know it in 1971.
Many Americans may not have a personal connection to a service man or woman who gave their life in defense of this great country so they may not feel an emotional connection to the day. However, it is amazing what a little research into your families past will uncover. By reconnecting with these stories, which are part of your story, it can make you more feel connected with history and grateful for the ways things did turn out. Remembering, that if even one event of your families pasts went differently, there is a great probability that you would not be here today.
Many people may think that they have no one in their family that served in the military, and perhaps that is true, or perhaps the stories have been lost to time. Just like in our era of military personal not wanting or not being able to talk about what took place during their time served, perhaps a relative was the same and just never talked about it. Or maybe they just saw it as something they did when they had to and moved on with their life after the fact. Either way their service gets lost to time. It is easier than you might think to reconnect with these stories of your families past.
While I was researching one branch of my family tree I learned about my great grandmother’s brother, Cpl. George Lemmon. He was a Technician Fifth Class in the 44th Engineer Combat Battalion in World War II. This was news to me; I did not think I had any relatives who saw combat in World War II. He was captured by the Nazi’s on December 22, 1944 in Luxemburg and sent to a work/concentration camp, Stalag IVB and then he was moved to Stalag VIIIA, where he ultimately succumbed to disease.
I obviously never met him. Although potentially could have, he would have been about 69 when I was born. It is not outside the realm of possibility that he could have lived a much longer life and we could have met. When you realize that part of the blood running through your relative’s veins is the same genetically as yours, it has a very different impact. I had read about the German work/concentration camps. I have seen documentaries and it always elicits a feeling of heartbreak for those who were put in that position. There is something that changes when you realize your blood was shed there too. Because his life events took the order they did he died leaving behind a wife, but no direct ancestors, no sons to carry on his name, no daughters to walk down the aisle.
Cpl. Lemmon died in a horrific work camp far from home and is buried in the Netherlands American Cemetery, Margraten, Netherlands. I do not know if my Great Great Grandmother was able to see her son’s grave. When I make it over the big pond, it is absolutely on my list of places to go, maybe other family members have gone. I do not know, but it is on my bucket list to get there and pay my respects.
This Memorial Day, I truly hope that you will make it a goal to look into your families past and see if there are any hero’s lost to time that you can bring back to life. You can start with beginning your tree on a site like Ancestry.com, then using sites like Fold3, and Newspapers.com or the free newspaper service in New York through Live-brary.com, Historic Newspapers. The Daughters of the American Revolution, historical societies, the US Military and some battlefields have archives that may have details of your family members’ service. You may have to collect a piece here and a piece there and put it back together like a puzzle but in the end you may just be amazed at what you find. As always you can contact me if you need some help getting started or if you are hitting a brick wall.
~Happy Searching
Many Americans may not have a personal connection to a service man or woman who gave their life in defense of this great country so they may not feel an emotional connection to the day. However, it is amazing what a little research into your families past will uncover. By reconnecting with these stories, which are part of your story, it can make you more feel connected with history and grateful for the ways things did turn out. Remembering, that if even one event of your families pasts went differently, there is a great probability that you would not be here today.
Many people may think that they have no one in their family that served in the military, and perhaps that is true, or perhaps the stories have been lost to time. Just like in our era of military personal not wanting or not being able to talk about what took place during their time served, perhaps a relative was the same and just never talked about it. Or maybe they just saw it as something they did when they had to and moved on with their life after the fact. Either way their service gets lost to time. It is easier than you might think to reconnect with these stories of your families past.
While I was researching one branch of my family tree I learned about my great grandmother’s brother, Cpl. George Lemmon. He was a Technician Fifth Class in the 44th Engineer Combat Battalion in World War II. This was news to me; I did not think I had any relatives who saw combat in World War II. He was captured by the Nazi’s on December 22, 1944 in Luxemburg and sent to a work/concentration camp, Stalag IVB and then he was moved to Stalag VIIIA, where he ultimately succumbed to disease.
I obviously never met him. Although potentially could have, he would have been about 69 when I was born. It is not outside the realm of possibility that he could have lived a much longer life and we could have met. When you realize that part of the blood running through your relative’s veins is the same genetically as yours, it has a very different impact. I had read about the German work/concentration camps. I have seen documentaries and it always elicits a feeling of heartbreak for those who were put in that position. There is something that changes when you realize your blood was shed there too. Because his life events took the order they did he died leaving behind a wife, but no direct ancestors, no sons to carry on his name, no daughters to walk down the aisle.
Cpl. Lemmon died in a horrific work camp far from home and is buried in the Netherlands American Cemetery, Margraten, Netherlands. I do not know if my Great Great Grandmother was able to see her son’s grave. When I make it over the big pond, it is absolutely on my list of places to go, maybe other family members have gone. I do not know, but it is on my bucket list to get there and pay my respects.
This Memorial Day, I truly hope that you will make it a goal to look into your families past and see if there are any hero’s lost to time that you can bring back to life. You can start with beginning your tree on a site like Ancestry.com, then using sites like Fold3, and Newspapers.com or the free newspaper service in New York through Live-brary.com, Historic Newspapers. The Daughters of the American Revolution, historical societies, the US Military and some battlefields have archives that may have details of your family members’ service. You may have to collect a piece here and a piece there and put it back together like a puzzle but in the end you may just be amazed at what you find. As always you can contact me if you need some help getting started or if you are hitting a brick wall.
~Happy Searching
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