Latest news with #DaughtersoftheAmericanRevolution
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Broadway part of 'Taps Across America'
The solemn sounds of a bugler playing Taps echoed through the Town of Broadway Monday afternoon. Tyler Green, a student at Southern Lee High School, played the symbolic melody at the North Carolina Veterans Memorial precisely at 3 p.m. as part of a national program titled 'Taps Across America.' The Private John Grady chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution hosted the program and provided a brief program beforehand. 'Taps Across America is a nationwide effort at 3 p.m. in each time zone on Memorial Day, musicians are encouraged to step mouton their porch, to go to the cemetery or a memorial and play Taps,' Carolyn Comfort of the Private John Grady D.A.R. chapter said. During the ceremony, Stacy Nooning, also from the Private John Grady Chapter offered a Memorial Day prayer. Comfort then shared a poem, 'Born on the Fourth of July,' about her brother Jack, who was killed in Vietnam on Jan. 2, 1968. 'Even though the poem is about Jack, I think it applies to many families across this country in all of our conflicts,' she said. Comfort said her aunt wrote the poem about six years after Jack was killed in the Vietnam War. She said her family had shared the poem at other Memorial Day programs. 'I think it speaks to all of your fallen warriors,' she said. Following the poem, Green raised his trumpet to his lips and played the mournful tune as veterans saluted. 'Taps' is a bugle call sounded to signal 'lights out' at the end of a military day and during patriotic memorial ceremonies and military funerals conducted by the United States Armed Forces. Taps Across America is a nationwide tribute dedicated to honoring the service and sacrifice of our fallen military heroes. Founded in 2020 by retired Air Force bugler Jari Villanueva, Co-Founder of Taps for Veterans, this powerful tradition began as a way to bring Americans together during the pandemic. Instead of parades and public ceremonies, thousands of musicians—professional and amateur alike—took to their front porches and local landmarks to sound Taps in unison. More than 10,000 musicians participated in the inaugural tribute, and the movement continues to grow. Members of the John Grady Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution hope to continue that tradition in Lee County as well.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Willmar, Minnesota Daughters of American Revolution chapter turns 100
May 28---- The is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. Daughters of the American Revolution is a women's service organization that focuses on work in local communities to promote historic preservation, education and patriotism, according to There are 175,000 members in 3,000 chapters located across the country and around the world. There are 21 chapters in Minnesota. Any woman 18 years or older who can prove lineal descent from a patriot of the American Revolution can join. "It can be a military person, or it actually could be community or public service," Willmar Chapter DAR Regent Stephanie Sjoberg told the West Central Tribune during an interview. "If if they gave supplies to the troops, and they're on a supply list, that would also be accepted. Or if they actually did protection for their town, or a surveyor of roads — that was all community service, so it would be considered public service, too." A reception for the Willmar chapter's 100th is planned from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, June 14, at the Kandiyohi County Historical Society, 610 Highway 71 N.E. in Willmar, with a program taking place at 2:15 p.m. Reservations are requested, but not required, via email or phone at or 320-894-3653, respectively. The first organizational meeting of the Willmar Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution took place Feb. 17, 1925, at the Willmar Public Library under the guidance of Organizing Regent Myrtle Lund Diffendorf, according to an October 1975 article in the "Daughters of the American Revolution" magazine. Charter membership was open for several months after that first meeting. Along with Diffendorf, other charter members included Lillian Cutter Benson, Alice Brown Branton, Madge G. Hahn, Dorrie Brown Handy, Helen E. Jenness, Josephine Fancher Jenness, Louise Branham Rodange, Jennie Brown Sherwood, Winifred Sherwood, Ethel M. Smith. Lila M. Spencer, Alice Thompson, Abbie Paddock and Edith Emery, according to an article celebrating the centennial of its founding in the Oct. 17, 1990, edition of the West Central Tribune. Cutter Benson was the longest-lived founding member of the Willmar chapter, dying in 2008 at the age of 107, according to Sjoberg. She is buried at Lakewood Cemetery in Minneapolis. Sjoberg made sure that her Find A Grave website memorial was updated with her full obituary and noted that she was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She is listed as "Lilyan Martha 'Lillian' Cutter Benson" on the website. "That was kind of fun, just to actually update it so people, when they come across it, they would know right away that she was a DAR member," Sjoberg said. " ... Her nieces actually wrote a very nice obituary honoring the DAR chapter here." There are currently 25 members in the Willmar Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, ranging in age from 28 to 92. The chapter meets on the second Saturday of each month, but takes the winters off due to the number of members who are "snowbirds" and go south. Sjoberg explained that the chapter has a registrar who can assist with genealogy research for those interested in determining if they are a direct descendant of an American revolutionary, in order to become a member. Sjoberg also helps with the genealogy research as an assistant registrar. Potential members are asked for their birth certificates and those of their parents. Ideally, they can also provide birth certificates for their grandparents, but an obituary is also sufficient if the grandparents have died. Sjoberg did not know that she would qualify for membership until she had retired and started researching her own genealogy. She found out she was a direct descendant of a patriot revolutionary on her mother's side of the family. Her mother also became a member. She had always assumed her ancestors had immigrated to the United States during the 1800s, but her mother's great-grandmother was a descendant of Frederick Countryman, who was born to parents who immigrated in 1710 from the Palatine region of Germany. She also found out that her father is a direct descendant of people who immigrated in the 1600s. In the last couple of years, Sjoberg assisted one family with their genealogy and the Willmar Chapter of the DAR gained five new members from that family. Daughters of the American Revolution is strictly a nonpolitical, nonprofit service organization, Sjoberg said. "We do patriotic things. We do educational things. We like to do commemorative events. We do a lot with the veterans," she said. She noted the local chapter really promotes education and does a lot with local libraries, especially honoring Constitution Week. The chapter sets up informational tables at local events and festivals a couple of times per year. Chapters receive awards if they have 600 or more volunteer service hours per year, according to Sjoberg, who noted that all 21 chapters in Minnesota met that goal last year. Each year the Willmar chapter sponsors an American history essay contest for fifth- through eighth-grade students and the DAR Good Citizens Award for high school seniors. Local winners of the essay contest go on to compete at the state level and winners at the state level compete at the division level. Winners of the division level earn a trip to Washington, D.C., for the award ceremony. The winner of the Good Citizens Award is a student who possesses the qualities of dependability, service, leadership and patriotism in their homes, schools and communities. A scholarship is awarded. A service project in 2023 by the Willmar chapter and three other chapters provided a grave marker for Cecile D. Evans Taylor, who served as an Army Nurse Corps member during World War I at Fort Snelling, Minnesota, from September of 1918 to August of 1919. Evans Taylor died in 1999 at the age of 103 and was buried at Evergreen Cemetery in Dover, Minnesota. An installation ceremony took place in September of 2023, with the American Legion erecting flags at the site and providing a firing squad. Through her research, Sjoberg knew that Evens Taylor was Scottish and she found a local bagpiper who played the national anthem at the ceremony. Retired from the U.S. Army, the bagpiper is married to the regent of the Rochester chapter. "That was kind of a fluke, too," Sjoberg said. " ... So, you know, if you have faith — it was like it was all really ordained from up above." Sjoberg explained how challenging it was to get a veteran's marker for Evans Taylor due to complications with obtaining her military records. The National Personnel Records Center could not find any records for her and a National Archives and Records Administration query revealed that the records were destroyed in a fire in 1973. Finally, the Military Women's Memorial was able to find a copy of her induction order and copies of her pay stubs, which were submitted to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for approval of a veteran's marker. "It was just really, really satisfying to have this whole group of people come together and do this for her," Sjoberg said.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Thousands turn out for 81st Rockville Memorial Day Parade
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. () – Large crowds lined the streets of downtown Rockville Monday for the 81st Rockville Memorial Day Parade. Thousands in Rockville Town Center came together to honor the men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice while serving their country. 'It's really nice to see a community like this,' Andrew Bryant said. 'It's diverse, it's large, and everybody can still come together to a singular event.' National Memorial Day Parade in DC honors fallen heroes Bryant has been coming to the Rockville Memorial Day Parade since he was a child. He said it holds a special place in his heart. 'Having family members who have served and working for the military myself, it just brings that much more meaning to who really gave for this country, who really cares about this country,' Bryant said. Betty Graham said coming out to show appreciation for the men and women who sacrificed their lives for our country was a must for her family. 'It's like something we have to continue to do to honor them,' Graham said. Duvrese Scarlett, with the Daughters of the American Revolution, also came out to the parade. 'There's complete pride in the fact that we're all here together in the memory of those who have served,' Scarlett said. Memorial Day: How it came to be, how it evolved The organization participated in the parade's wreath-laying ceremony. 'We come out to show support for the whole community,' Carol Petrov with Daughters of the American Revolution, said. 'So they're remembered.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Red lanterns to be lit for VE Day 80th anniversary at Texas Panhandle War Memorial
The Texas Panhandle War Memorial Center, located at 4111 S. Georgia in Amarillo, will join other groups and the community in honoring the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day (VE Day) May 8, with a nighttime outdoor lantern ceremony at the center. VE Day marked the end of hostilities in the European Theater in World War II. The lanterns' flames represent the "light of peace" that emerged from the darkness of war, and the red represents the sacrifices made during the war. The Daughters of the American Revolution, Ester McCory and Molly Goodnight Chapters, will hold the ceremony at 9:30 p.m. at the war memorial. They will be joining communities across the state of Texas to honor the sacrifice of our veterans and remember the 80 years since the end of World War II in Europe. Part of the Texas Panhandle War Memorial Center is seen in this April 2022 file photo. "Many millions paid the ultimate sacrifice to achieve victory and bring peace to a battered continent," Tim Reid, the war memorial's executive director, said in an event announcement, noting 1,079 Panhandle veterans paid the ultimate sacrifice and are memorialized on 10 granite monoliths at the war memorial. The lighting of red lanterns will take place at 9:30 p.m. (2130), with the names of veterans read out loud, followed by the singing 'God Bless America.' The public is encouraged to participate in the ceremony and bring a red lantern. For more information, call 806-350-8387 or visit the website, This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: VE Day to be marked by red lantern ceremony at war memorial
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Rockford Veterans Hall unveils exhibit honoring Vietnam War veterans
ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — Rockford's Veterans Memorial Hall honored Vietnam War veterans with a new exhibit, commemorating 50 years since the end of the conflict. 'We have three veterans that were interviewed as part of the Harlem Veterans History Project. We're going to share some of their stories,' said Museum Director Scott Lewandowski. We've also created a permanent exhibit in Memorial Hall to honor the 69 veterans that were killed from this county during the Vietnam conflict.' The exhibit allowed visitors to dive into the history and life of each local veteran thanks to the work Inis Bloomster of the Daughters of the American Revolution. 'I volunteered, thinking it would be fine because I worked at the library, and I knew that they had yearbooks,' said Bloomster. 'I thought I could check the yearbooks. Well, it became a lot more than that.' Scouring libraries and reaching out to the public created a worthwhile, years-long endeavor. 'So I had to go to Winnebago and then out of Stillman Valley, Durand and all of those places,' Bloomster continued. A lot of the boys quit school to go into the service. So, they didn't have a senior picture. It took me two years to find them, but I did find everybody.' Thanks to Bloomster's work, those 69 Winnebago County veterans killed in action can be memorialized forever. 'We need to remember these guys and the sacrifice that they made,' Bloomster explained. 'I'm proud that I could do that, but I'm also grateful to them for doing that.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
