Latest news with #RevolutionaryWar
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Free entry to local museums for Bank of America customers
SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) — On June 7 and 8, Bank of America credit and debit cardholders receive free admission to several local museums. As part of the Bank's nationwide program, Museums on Us, more than 225 cultural experiences are free. In the Coastal Empire, the following places are part of the program: Georgia State Railroad Museum Located in Tricentennial Park, Georgia State Railroad Museum is a beautiful National Historic Landmark located at the old Central of Georgia Railway Savannah Shops and Terminal Facilities. With a fully operational turntable, you have the chance to explore historic railcars, experience the handcar and go on guided tours. Be sure to check the train rides that run on the hour from 10 a.m. through 3 p.m. Old Fort Jackson Old Fort Jackson is a National Historic Landmark offering daily cannon firings and exciting interactive programs for adults, kids and families. It features historical weapons demonstrations and interactive programming for families. Daily cannon firings occur at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Pin Point Heritage Museum (Saturday only) At the Pin Point Heritage Museum located in the old A.S. Varn & Son Oyster and Crab Factory, visitors can experience the Gullah/Geechee culture firsthand. For nearly 100 years, the community of Pin Point was quietly isolated on the banks of the Moon River just south of Savannah. Now, you can explore the refurbished museum complex and experience multimedia presentations, exciting exhibits, and unparalleled views of the marsh! Savannah Children's Museum Located within the Central of Georgia Railway Carpentry Shop, Savannah Children's Museum features over a dozen exhibits designed to expand the imaginations of children including an exploration maze, a reading nook, and a sensory garden. Savannah History Museum Located in the former Central of Georgia Railway Passenger Depot, Savannah History Museum takes you on a journey through time from Savannah's earliest days to the present, with unique exhibits and interactive experiences for the family. Exhibits include an early 20th-century steam locomotive, archaeological finds from Savannah's Revolutionary War history, and much more. Harper Fowlkes House Located on Orleans Square, the Harper Fowlkes House takes gusts through the history of one of Savannah's most iconic buildings by sharing fascinating architectural details, artwork and interiors. Guests can learn about the 1842 home's inhabitants, including Alida Harper Fowlkes. Alida was an entrepreneur and preservationist who ran several businesses and helped to restore several historic buildings in Savannah. : Diedrick Brackens 'The Shape of Survival' Diedrick Brackens creates woven tapestries that blend a cosmic array of allegories, historical narratives, and autobiographical memories into compelling forms. In the shape of survival, Brackens brings his work into intimate dialogue with the American South, drawing on the region's history of quilting and influences from myriad historic artists, most notably Aaron Douglas. Brackens' use of hand-dyed cotton acknowledges the weighty legacy of this material, honoring its past while transmuting it into lyrical, awe-inspiring artworks. Now through July 7. Present your Bank of America credit or debit card along with a photo ID to gain free general admission to any participating institution. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Veterans' protests planned for D-Day latest in nearly 250 years of fighting for their benefits
Veterans across the United States will gather on June 6, 2025, to protest the Trump administration's cuts to the Department of Veterans Affairs, as well as the slashing of staff and programs throughout the government. Veteran-led protests will be held at the National Mall, 16 state capitol buildings and over 100 other venues across 43 states. Veterans are disproportionately affected by federal cuts, in part because they make up only 6.1% of the U.S. population but, because of 'veterans preference' in federal hiring, they compose 24% of the 3 million federal workers facing mass layoffs under the Trump administration. Veterans also depend on comprehensive, free, federally funded health care through VA clinics throughout the country. But that care is deteriorating due to cuts, rule changes and return-to-work policies that make it impossible for many VA workers to effectively provide care. Looming cuts to the VA may cause an irreversible blow if the VA stops providing comprehensive care to veterans and, instead, pushes veterans into seeing doctors in private practice. This is not the first time that veterans have engaged in mass mobilization. Veterans groups in the U.S. have successfully mobilized for centuries, crossing traditional political divisions such as race, class and gender. They are powerful messengers, and their actions in the past have helped secure back pay and pensions for veterans, a Social Security and welfare system for U.S. civilians, and foreign policy changes to end wars abroad. I'm a scholar of law, social movements and veterans benefits. Here's a brief history of veterans' campaigns that illustrates how veterans developed their political clout and effectively advocated to protect themselves, and many others, from harmful federal policies. Veterans were not always politically popular, nor were they treated well by the federal government. After the Revolutionary War ended in 1783, Gen. George Washington lobbied Congress to offer lifetime half-pay to officers who served until the end of the war. Given the federal government's financial precariousness at the end of the war, this effort failed. Veterans were unable to successfully mobilize to advocate for the pensions, given their small numbers and internal divisions between more privileged officers and less privileged soldiers. During the Civil War, Congress passed numerous laws designed to support veterans. The 1862 pension law allocated payouts in proportion to a soldier's permanent bodily injury or disability caused by their service. The benefits were generous in comparison with prior allocations, and more veterans began applying for them. Yet, by 1875 only 6.5% of veterans had signed up for pensions. Veterans began to organize to increase awareness about these benefits and to lobby for more. The Grand Army of the Republic became a leading veterans organization that demanded better pension and disability benefits. At the end of the 1800s, earning veterans' votes became a priority for aspiring politicians. The Grand Army of the Republic directly lobbied Congress to pass bills expanding veterans pensions, one of which Democratic President Grover Cleveland vetoed in 1887. The organization then successfully mobilized its members to vote against Cleveland in the 1888 election, securing victory for presidential candidate William Henry Harrison and for Republicans in both houses of Congress. This secured the 1890 Arrears Act, which expanded veterans' pensions and disability payments. By the turn of the 19th century, over 40% of federal expenditures went to veterans. As more veterans returned in 1898 from fighting in the Spanish-American War, and with a huge influx of veterans 20 years later from World War I, veterans mobilized to streamline and expand pension and disability benefits. In the 1920s, the two most prominent veterans organizations, the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars, or VFW, formed a national legislative committee dedicated to lobbying for improved benefits. Each group boasted thousands of members whom they could call on to 'barrage'– a veterans term – congressmen with letters. By 1929, even as the federal budget ballooned, veterans benefits still represented 20% of the total federal budget. The 1924 'Bonus Act,' which Congress passed after overruling Calvin Coolidge's presidential veto, offered WWI veterans a deferred 'bonus' payment available in 1945. But veterans suffered immensely in the Great Depression, along with the rest of the country. Veterans tried a new campaign tactic in 1932, creating the 'Bonus Expeditionary Forces,' or 'Bonus Army,' march on Washington, D.C., to demand their promised pay be delivered sooner. Over the course of three months, from May through July 1932, 40,000 veterans set up encampments throughout the city. During their stay, they crowded congressional galleries and plazas during debates on the bill. When President Herbert Hoover called on the military to disband the encampments, he set himself up for electoral defeat later that year. It took another four years for Congress to pass a law offering an immediate payout, but the veterans got their bonuses in 1936, not 1945. Building from public support bolstered by the Bonus Army march, veterans fought publicly to protect their benefits in the Great Depression. In 1933, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt sought to cut veterans' benefits to help finance other relief programs during the Depression, but veterans successfully lobbied Congress to rescind the cuts. A 1933 VFW encampment in Milwaukee attracted 10,000 veterans who openly decried Roosevelt's economic policies. The event featured left-wing Louisiana populist Sen. Huey P. Long and former Marine turned anti-Wall Street populist Smedley Butler. The U.S. entered World War II in December 1941. To avoid another spectacle, FDR began developing a compensation program for World War II veterans even before the war's end. During debates about these expenditures, veterans activism helped ensure the generous educational, housing and vocational benefits from the so-called GI Bill developed by FDR, and the soldier vote helped secure FDR's fourth-term election in 1944. Scholars credit the GI Bill with creating a booming U.S. economy from the 1950s through the 1970s and creating the contemporary middle class, an economic and social group now shrinking and under threat. After World War II, veterans' mobilization expanded from a focus on benefits to foreign policy. Most famously, after its founding in 1967, Vietnam Veterans Against the War engaged in street theater and gathered testimonies about U.S. military abuses to condemn the U.S. government for violence against the Vietnamese. Vietnam Veterans Against the War helped organized a four-day protest in 1971 in Washington, D.C., including camping on the National Mall. The organization continued to mobilize in more traditional ways, drafting congressional legislation for benefits and promoting investment in psychological support for Vietnam veterans. Veterans have continued to protest wars, particularly the Iraq War, engaging in street protests and also through mainstream politics such as elections and television advertising. Given their experiences, veterans today know what they are standing up for on June 6: their own freedom and prosperity, as well as the country's and the world's. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Jamie Rowen, UMass Amherst Read more: 5 reasons veterans are especially hard-hit by federal cuts Peace advocates have long been found among veterans who fought in America's wars Military veterans are disproportionately affected by suicide, but targeted prevention can help reverse the tide Jamie Rowen receives funding from National Science Foundation.
USA Today
4 days ago
- USA Today
South Carolina tourists find remains that may be linked to 'forgotten' burial site
South Carolina tourists find remains that may be linked to 'forgotten' burial site Show Caption Hide Caption Danish archaeologists uncover 50 Viking-era skeletons The excavation of a large Viking-era burial site in Denmark has unearthed 50 well-preserved skeletons, along with grave gifts. Tourists exploring an island off the South Carolina coast accidentally uncovered human skeletal remains that authorities believe may be linked to a forgotten, centuries-old burial site. The tourists were in Jeremy Cay — a private, beachfront community located on Edisto Island about 45 miles southwest of Charleston — on May 23 when they discovered what they initially believed to be fossils, according to the Colleton County Sheriff's Office. But after realizing the remains appeared to be human, the tourists immediately contacted the sheriff's office and the Edisto Beach Police Department, the sheriff's office said. Authorities then responded to the scene and secured the area. The Colleton County Coroner's Office also assisted in the investigation and recovery of the remains, which were later transported to the Medical University of South Carolina for forensic analysis and identification, according to the sheriff's office. "The location of the discovery is historically significant, once home to the 19th-century settlement known as Edingsville Beach," the sheriff's office said in a news release. "Early indications suggest the remains may originate from a long forgotten burial site." The sheriff's office noted that the identity of the remains and the circumstances surrounding their death are currently unknown. The investigation remains ongoing, and the sheriff's office said it's working with the county coroner's office and other partner agencies to learn more about the remains and their origin. Colleton County Coroner Richard Harvey told Newsweek on May 25 that the remains consisted of a skull and separated bones. Harvey noted that the discovery was "rare" and that the remains could be from the Revolutionary War or Civil War, according to Newsweek. A family went missing in Alaska in 2024. A boat and human remains were just found. What is Edingsville Beach? The Jeremy Cay community is near the site of Edingsville Beach, a former vacation destination that was popular among wealthy Southern families in the early 19th century, according to an article on the town of Edisto Island's website. "It was initially established for wealthy Charleston families as a seasonal refuge to escape the humidity and heat in the Lowcountry," the article states. "For a few decades, Edingsville Beach was the place for the elite to be seen." In 1825, the community was made up of 60 tabby and brick houses with verandas facing the ocean, according to the article. Edingsville Beach also had several churches, service buildings, boathouses, fishing shacks, a billiard saloon, and a schoolhouse. The settlement began to disappear over the decades due to coastal erosion and the effects of the Civil War, the article adds. "Visitors started to notice the shifting sands and ever-lapping tides took a toll on the beach," according to the article. "In addition, the Atlantic surf had managed to scoop up about 20 of the homes before the Civil War began." Patricia Wu-Murad case: A Connecticut woman went missing 2 years ago on hike in Japan. Her remains have been found The community was uninhabited during the Civil War and mostly abandoned after the war ended in 1865, the article states. Edisto Island was hit by a hurricane in 1885, which leveled most of the remaining structures in the settlement. By 1893, another hurricane destroyed the last of the structures in Edingsville Beach, according to the article. Now, only a narrow strip of beach serves as a reminder of the historic community. Bones and remains have previously been found on the island, the article states. In 2015, a tourist from Pennsylvania visiting the north end of Edisto Island found several bones. Shortly after, a former Edisto Beach State Park ranger discovered a skull with some teeth attached. Paleontologists later determined that both sets of remains dated back to 1865 and 1870, according to the article. One of the sets was identified as a cow skeleton.
The Independent
4 days ago
- The Independent
Tourists find 200-year-old human remains at beachfront property
Tourists have found 200-year-old human remains, including a skull, at a South Carolina beachfront property. The tourists had been exploring an area of Edisto Island, south of Charleston, when they found what was initially thought to be fossils, according to the Colleton County Sheriff's Office. When the visitors had a closer look, and realized the remains appeared to be human, they called police. 'Early indications suggest the remains may originate from a long forgotten burial site,' the sheriff's office said in a press release. The sheriff's office said the property is 'historically significant' and was a settlement called Edingsville Beach in the 1800s. The Colleton County Coroner's office recovered the remains which have since been taken to the Medical University of South Carolina 'for forensic analysis and identification,' the sheriff's office said. Coroner Rich Harvey told Newsweek the discovery is 'rare' and the remains, which include a skull and separated bones, 'could be from [the] Revolutionary War [or] Civil War." Edingsville Beach was a popular travel destination for wealthy Charleston families in the first half of the 19th century, according to The settlement included 60 houses, multiple churches, a billiard saloon, a schoolhouse and other buildings for people's fishing and boating needs. But the lavish beach was ruined by erosion, and it went uninhabited during the Civil War. The war devastated the plantation economy, which bankrupted many and forced them to abandon their summer homes. The settlement was later inhabited by Black sharecroppers and farmers, until a hurricane in 1885 destroyed most of the remaining homes, leaving only a few still standing. After the storm, the settlement was abandoned.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Okaloosa County announces two statues for Women Veterans' Day
OKALOOSA COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) – June 12, 2025, marks the third Annual Women Veterans' Day ceremony at the Destin-Fort Walton Beach Convention Center for Okaloosa County. According to a news release, Okaloosa County officials announced two new statues will be unveiled. At 8 a.m. on June 12, a wreath-laying ceremony will be held at the Women Veterans Monuments at Veterans Park, with Commander 1st Operations Mission Support Group Col. Kristen Wood as this year's keynote speaker. The State of Florida recognized Women Veterans Day by proclamation from Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2021. It is a day that acknowledges President Truman's signing of the Women's Armed Services Integration Act that established the Women's Army Corps in the Regular Army and authorized enlistment and appointment of women in the Regular Air Force, Regular Navy, and Marine Corps. Wellness Wednesday: Weight, Muscle, and Endurance 'This event has become a beloved tradition for everyone in our community to recognize and appreciate the women who have served in our military since the Revolutionary War,' Okaloosa County Vice Chairman Carolyn Ketchel said. The new statues will recognize Captain Linda Bray and Florence Ebersole Smith Finch. Captain Linda Bray, who led her company during a firefight in Panama in 1989 when it was illegal for women to engage in combat. She was recently awarded the Bronze Star with V Device for her actions. Florence Ebersole Smith Finch worked with the Philippine underground to smuggle supplies to POWs during WWII. She joined the Coast Guard after being imprisoned and tortured by the Japanese and was awarded the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Ribbon and the Medal of Freedom. The statues will be officially placed at a later date. The Women Veterans Monuments at Veteran Park were unveiled by Okaloosa County in 2021. Eight women who served in combat are honored with life-size bronze statues. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
