Stories In Stone
a/n: This year I was privileged once again to participate in the "Reading of the Names" at the East Tennessee Veterans Memorial at Worlds Fair Park in Knoxville. There are close to 6250 names engraved on the markers there. One is of Cpl. Robert A. McLoughlin, Jr., my cousin, who was killed during a meaningless sweep north of the Cam Hung River by the 1st Battalion, 9th Marines on June 18, 1968. Semper Fi, Bobby.
One thing that never ceases to sadden me during the readings is the lists from the two world wars. When the names are read from some of the smaller surrounding counties: Union, Polk, Morgan, etc., there will often be several men from that county with the same last name. Given the size and small-town nature of these communities you just know they were all related. Whole families just devastated.
I first wrote this way back in 2003, but it is appropriate still:
Even a secular nation such as ours can be said to have sacred places. Great buildings of government are important and in some cases, historical relics in and of themselves. One can tour the Capitol Building in Washington or the White House and come away with a sense of both awe and ownership. These are still, though, working buildings. Men and women go to work in them every day and complain about their jobs, the weather, the price of nearly everything or how their supervisor just doesn’t understand and so forth.
This Memorial Day weekend, may I suggest a visit to a truly sacred and, indeed, holy place. Go to your local National Cemetery. Don’t go while the politicians are there or the Boy Scouts are doing their thing. Go early in the morning, when you can have the place to yourself.
At first you notice the uniformity of the place. All the headstones are placed just so. They are aligned in rows and columns that seem to stretch forever, indistinguishable from each other. Now look closer. You’ll see that each stone tells its own story. These are some stories from the National Cemetery I visit from time to time in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Knoxville’s Cemetery was founded to provide a resting place for Union soldiers killed in fighting either in Knoxville itself in 1863 or in small firefights in the surrounding hills. Many of the Union soldiers resting here died of disease during occupation duties. The stones are silent as to how they died. These Civil War graves are masterpieces of simplicity. Most are engraved “So-and-So U.S. Soldier” and a surprising number are marked USCT or USCHA marking the last resting spot for black troops who garrisoned Knoxville and many other southern towns. USCT stands for “United States Colored Troops” and USCHA means “U. S. Colored Heavy Artillery.” The most poignant Civil War graves are marked simply “Unknown U.S. Soldier.”
There are eleven graves placed near to each other and all with the same date: 8 October 1918. That was the day the 117th Infantry, made up largely of National Guardsmen from Knox and surrounding counties, launched an assault on German positions near Premont in the Ypres sector. The attack succeeded but at tremendous cost. The 117th Infantry suffered nearly 1100 casualties out of a normal strength of about 6500. It was East Tennessee’s bloodiest day of the First World War.
You may also stumble upon other heroes from other wars. Here is the grave of Staff Sgt. Custer Watts who served in “B” Company, 4th Battalion 54th Infantry Regiment during the Korean War. Sergeant Watts’ headstone is engraved with curious abbreviations that are deeply meaningful to those who can decipher them. His inscription notes “SS – BSM & 2 OLC” and below that “PH & 2OLC.” Translated, Sgt Watts was awarded the Silver Star medal for gallantry. He also received the Bronze Star Medal for heroism with two Oak Leaf Clusters indicating subsequent awards of the same medal. The “PH” stands for his Purple Heart Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters for multiple wounds in battle. Even more amazing is that Sgt. Watts survived the war and returned home.
Near the main parking area there is a section set aside for those whose bodies have been donated to science or were otherwise “unrecoverable.” In this group you’ll find Machinist’s Mate 2nd Class Samuel J. Cardullo whose last duty station was the nuclear submarine USS Scorpion, which sank in the Atlantic on 5 June 1968 while on routine patrol.
Most of the markers though, are like that of Technical Sergeant 5 Alfred Hughes who fought his Second World War behind the wheel as a member of the 2010 Quartermaster Truck Company. Neither well known, nor recognized for battlefield heroism, he nevertheless answered his county’s call and did his duty. That alone earned him a spot here. It was enough. T5 Hughes and his comrades here and in the other National Cemeteries around this country and those resting overseas are united by the sentiment on the marker of Corporal Ralph Boles who was killed in on that fateful October day in World War I and now sleeps amongst them.
“Tell them I did my bit.”
A bugler plays "Taps" at the Aisne-Marne Cemetery near Belleau Wood. (US Marine Corps)
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May I wish one and all a very happy Memorial Day and urge you to never forget the sacrifices that made our celebrations possible.
