Posted on August 31st, 2008 by Carol
- Myra and Lydia Yates
I love this picture of my two Great Aunts, especially the hat Myra is wearing. Myra was born 28 Sep 1888 in Oregon County, MO. She passed away in 1940. Her younger sister Lydia was born 19 Sep 1895 in Howell County, MO and passed away in 1976 in Shelton, WA. Lydia and her husband John were some of the first of our Yates family to move to Bordeaux, WA and were there before 1920. I suspect this photo was taken in Missouri. That's some fancy hat Myra is wearing, isn't it?
This is my submission to 5th Edition Smile For The Camera - A Carnival Of Images - Crowning Glory
addthis_url = ‘http%3A%2F%2Fipentimento.com%2Fsmile-for-the-camera-crowning-glory%2F’;
addthis_title = ‘Smile+For+The+Camera+%26%238211%3B+Crowning+Glory’;
addthis_pub = ”;
Technorati Tags: 5th Edition Smile For The Camera – A Carnival…
7 Comments »
Filed under: Family, Genealogy, History, Photos
Posted on August 29th, 2008 by Carol
There is a common misconception that the Medal of Honor is called the "Congressional" Medal of Honor, when in fact that word is not part of the name. While Congress did approve the medal to be bestowed on those who earned it, it is the branch of the service the member belongs to that carries out the bestowal.
I probably would not know any of those details (which is why I am writing this, in case you don't either) but my husband's Great Great Grandfather, John Whitmore was a Medal of Honor recipient during his service in the Civil War.
Sadly, I have also found out (and I lament my ignorance about this) that Medals of Honor were awarded to men who took part in the Wounded Knee Massacre (1890). This was not a battle as such, but an actual massacre of defenseless men, women and children. The reported number of medals awarded varies between 18 to 23, but that any were given to these men at all is something that should be changed. There is a movement to
rescind the medals, but the government has not seen fit to do so. Of course, they haven't seen fit to fully fund the treaties that they have with all the sovereign Indian nations either...Also, did you know that the Army continues to parade the Wounded Knee "Battle" Streamer? This is an affront to all Native Americans who have served in our military and should be removed.
So proudly the Army displays its flag with over 170 battle steamers at the Pentagon,White House, West Point Military Academy, museums and Army posts throughout the world. The Pine Ridge battle streamer has the highest number of Congressional Medals of Honor (20) of all the steamers including Normandy, Battle of the Budge, and Iwo Jima. According to the Army, the Secretary of Defense authorizes which battle streamers will hang from the flag. The Secretary could have the streamer removed if it was not connected to the 20 Congressional Medals of Honor. For this reason, the permanent removal of this offending streamer would take congressional and presidential action.
Just when you think you understand history, it comes up and bites you, doesn't it? For years, I have been trying to set the record straight about the actual name of the Medal of Honor as a form of respect for all of those who actually earned it honorably.
If you think it would be right to do so, please think about signing the petition to rescind the medals. Over 2000 have signed to date. Rescind the Wounded Knee Medals of Honor Petition
Sorry, the link I provided was spam and so I have removed it. Thanks for alerting me to that Roy. I should have checked it more thoroughly.
addthis_url = ‘http%3A%2F%2Fipentimento.com%2Fmedal-of-honor-congress-only-approved-it%2F’;
addthis_title = ‘Medal+of+Honor%3A+Congress+Only+APPROVED+It’;
addthis_pub = ”;
Technorati Tags: iPentimento, Medal of Honor, Wounded Knee
Related Posts
…
2 Comments »
Filed under: Genealogy, History, Military
Posted on August 24th, 2008 by Carol
If you are planning a trip to the cemetery to clean some headstones, you should check out this advice from Roy Dixon. Roy is an authority because he designs and creates hand carved memorials for Leyda, Burrus and Metz Monument Company in Burlington, Iowa. Roy has been a regular reader of iPentimento for a while now and to show my appreciation, I would like to introduce you to his website and show you what a talented artist he is.
Just a little side note from me. I once read about an intrepid genealogist who was out in a farm field and she had the idea to use flour to make the writing on an old stone show up more clearly. This was not a very good idea though. There were cattle in the field and even though the stones had some fencing around them, the cows were crazy to get to that flour. You guessed it, they made their way through the fencing, and proceeded to lick that flour off the stones. That wouldn't have been so bad, but it also damaged the stones and knocked some over. So, never use flour on the stones. Instead, use your common sense. Or, binoculars?
Below is an older photo of my husband's Great Great Grandfather John Whitmore's old headstone prior to 1997 when the Medal of Honor Society arranged for a new one to be place on his grave.
[caption id="attachment_450" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Mary E. and John Whitmore. "]
[/caption]
addthis_url = ‘http%3A%2F%2Fipentimento.com%2Fhow-to-clean-a-headstone-advice-from-the-artist%2F’;
addthis_title = ‘How+To+Clean+A+Headstone+%26%238211%3B+Advice+From+The+Artist’;
addthis_pub = ”;
Technorati Tags: cemetery, cemetery do’s and don’ts, DeSpain, headstone, how to clean a headstone, Whitmore
Related Posts
5 Comments »
Filed under: Genealogy, History, Photos
