Welcome to all Veterans

The Japanese Ambassador to the U.S., Ichiro Fujisaki, spoke at the 64threunion of the American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor in SanAntonio recently and offered an apology to veterans and their familiesfor the Bataan Death March. About 73 surviving Bataan Death Marchveterans of the Army and former Army Air Corps, some of them bedridden,were in attendance. This may be the first time Japan has formallyapologized to the veterans since the Death March was conducted more than67 years ago, although Japanese leaders generally repeat a landmarkstatement of apology approved by the cabinet in 1995 on the 50thanniversary of Emperor Hirohito's surrender when discussing the BataanDeath March. For more information, including educational materials,visit the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force Bataan Death March FactSheet and PBS's Bataan Rescue website.

Federal Officials Commit to Restore the Authentic Tomb of the Unknowns
at Arlington National Cemetery
<http://blogs.nationaltrust.org/preservationnation/?p=4971>


http://blogs.nationaltrust.org/preservationnation/?p=4971


by National Trust for Historic Preservation on June 25th, 2009
<http://blogs.nationaltrust.org/preservationnation/wp-content/uploads/20
09/06/tomb_c2a9granitepeaker_dreamstimecom-225x300.jpg>
The Tomb of the Unknowns (Photo: (c)Granitespeaker, Dreamstime.com)

At long last, Arlington National Cemetery and the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers have committed to restore - rather than replace - the historic
Tomb of the Unknowns
<http://www.preservationnation.org/travel-and-sites/sites/southern-regio
n/tomb-of-the-unknown-soldier.html> at Arlington National Cemetery.
According to the Army Corps, the restoration work will begin in
September 2009.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation has been leading the public
campaign to save the Tomb of the Unknowns with the vocal support of many
thousands of National Trust members and friends across the country who
vigorously support restoration.The Tomb of the Unknowns was established
shortly after World War I to honor our nation's war dead, particularly
those who have lost both their lives and their identities in combat.

The Congressionally-authorized tomb monument was created and installed
in 1932 according to the designs of architect Lorimer Rich and sculptor
Thomas Hudson Jones. The monument's inscription reads: "Here Rests in
Honored Glory An American Soldier Known But To God." Three bas relief
sculptures on the marble monument represent Victory, Valor, and Peace.

Generations of veterans and their families have honored our war dead at
the Tomb of the Unknowns. In fact, millions of people visit the Tomb
every year, making it one of the best-known historic places in the
United States.Two years ago, in September 2007, officials at Arlington
National Cemetery and the Army Corps of Engineers had finalized an
ill-considered plan to discard and replace the authentic tomb monument
with a "replica."

The tomb was marked for destruction solely because of two repairable
cracks in the 48-ton block of marble.In response, we raised the alarm
nationally, and more than 4,000 members and friends of the National
Trust urgently wrote to the superintendent of Arlington National
Cemetery and to their members of Congress to support preservation of the
tomb monument.

Senator Jim Webb and Senator Daniel Akaka were instrumental in saving
the tomb monument. In January 2008 President Bush signed into law
legislation crafted by Senators Webb and Akaka to require the Army to
fully explore various treatments for the historic tomb monument,
including restoration. This temporary reprieve saved the monument. The
Army's report stated that:

Marble conservation experts agree that the monument's cracks are
nonstructural and can be repaired to be virtually invisible to the
millions of annual visitors to the Tomb of the Unknowns.

Replacement of the tomb monument with a replica would cost $2.2 million,
while preservation-based repair would cost $65,000. To its credit, the
Army Corps informed the National Trust on June 8, 2009, that the
Cemetery and Army have reversed course and now have committed to
properly repair the tomb monument beginning in September 2009.

We are very pleased that the Arlington Heritage Alliance, Preservation
Virginia, American Institute for Conservation, Advisory Council on
Historic Preservation, Arlington County government, and Virginia
Department of Historic Resources each has strongly supported repairing
the authentic monument.

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Contributed,
YNCS Don Harribine, USN(ret)

Remember: freedom is never free!

THE 4th of July!!!!!...............
In remembrance!!

This is a great message

 Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the
Declaration of Independence? Five signers were captured by the British
as traitors, and tortured before they died.

Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned.  
 
Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army; another had two
sons captured.
 
Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the
Revolutionary War.
 
They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their
sacred honor.
 
What kind of men were they?
 
Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine were
farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well educated, but
they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the
penalty would be death if they were captured.
 
 Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships
swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties
to pay his debts, and died in rags.
 
 Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move
his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and
his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and
poverty was his reward.
 
Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer,
Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.
  
At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that the British
General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters.
He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was
destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.
 
Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed
his wife, and she died within a few months.
 
John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their 13
children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to
waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning
home to find his wife dead and his children vanished.
 
So, take a few minutes while enjoying your 4th of July holiday and
silently thank these patriots. It's not much to ask for the price they
paid.
  
Remember: freedom is never free!