81st Anniversary of Pearl Harbor: Herbert Jacobson-- Part 2

Continued from my RoadDog's RoadLog blog.

Herbert Jacobson's remains weren't identified until late 2019 after years of efforts by both the family and military DNA experts.  A burial originally scheduled for spring 2020 was delayed because of the pandemic.

In the meantime, more of Jacobson's remains were identified so the family will have more of him to bury.

"I just wish my mother and especially my grandmother could be around to see this," McDonald said.  "My grandmother would still be sad that she lost her oldest boy, but at least there would be a means of closure."

McDonald's late mother, Norma, was Jacobson's sister.  Their parents, George and Mabel Jacobson, met during World War I.  Like Herbert Jacobson, known to the family as "Bert," George Jacobson was a sailor in the U.S. Navy.  Mabel worked as a barmaid when they met.

The two were married on December 7, 1919, and Mabel named her firstborn son after her beloved brother, Herbert, who died at a young age.

Continued in my Saw the Elephant:  Civil War blog.

Veterans Day 2020: 101-Year-Old Navy Veteran Remembers Survival from USS Princeton

From the November 10, 2020, Coloradan '101-year-old Fort Collins veteran remembers  escape from ill-fated World War II aircraft carrier' by Kevin Dugan.

Al Oesterle left the U.S. Navy in 1965 after a long career.  He is extremely proud of his service, as is his family.  But they did not know about one particular harrowing experience Al had until 40 years after it happened.

It was during a 1984 reunion of crew members who served on the USS Princeton (CL-23), a light aircraft carrier that was lost during the Battle of Leyte Gulf that his wife learned that he may have been the last man to leave the ship before it went down.

Al Oesterle grew up in Joliet, Illinois, and joined the Navy in 1939 at age 20 and also  attended the University of Illinois Dental School.  He graduated in 1942 and joined the U.S. Navy Dental Corps.  After further training, he joined the crew of the USS Princeton.

The Princeton was sent to the Pacific Theater.  On October  24, 1944,  east of the island of Luzon, a lone Japanese kamikaze emerged from overcast skies and dropped a bomb on the Princeton that penetrated the flight deck and exploded in a  hanger bay where planes were being armed with bombs and refueled.

The Worst Time and Worst Place for an Aircraft Carrier to Get Hit.  --Old B-Runner

It's Been 200 Years As a State for Illinois: Navy Medal of Honor Recipients

From Illinois Civil War

"Illinois Civil War Medal of Honor Recipients"

Five Illinoisans received the Medal o Honor for their Naval service:

Charles Asten

Henry Dow

John Hyland

Michael McCormick

Hugh Malloy

--Old B-Runner

National Cemeteries in Illinois: Veterans Day 2017

From the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Here is a list of National cemeteries in Illinois.  Anyone of these would be a good place to visit today or any day to pay your respects to those who fought, died or risked their lives in defense of your freedom.

Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery--  Elwood  (on Route 66)

Alton National Cemetery

Camp Butler National Cemetery--  Springfield

Danville National Cemetery

Mound City National Cemetery

Quincy National Cemetery

Rock Island National Cemetery

And here are three cemeteries administered by the Veterans Affairs:

Confederate Mound, Oakwood Cemetery, Chicago

North Alton Confederate Cemetery

Rock Island Confederate Cemetery

There are also Confederate soldiers buried at Camp Butler

That's right, Confederate soldiers ARE AMERICAN SOLDIERS!!

Something to Think About the Next Time You Desecrate a Confederate Cemetery or Statue.  --Old B-Runner

Ann Bradford Stokes-- Part 6: Where Is She Buried? She Needs At least a Marker

Belknap, Illinois and Johnson County, Illinois.

From Wikipedia.

Located in the southern tip of Illinois in an area known as "Little Egypt."

The county was named for Richard M. Johnson, who commanded a regiment during the War of 1812 at the battle of the Thames.  After this  battle he claimed to have killed the great Indian Chief Tecumseh in hand-to-hand combat.  He also was a U.S. senator and Vice President under Martin Van Buren.  I will write  about him in my War of 1812 Not So Forgotten Blog.

I went to Find-a-Grave and went through the cemeteries in Belknap where Ann Stokes might have been buried.  She was not listed in Beleau, Belknap Masonic, Berreau, Flynn (Wildcat), Goodman or Miller cemeteries which are in Belknap.

I would sure like to find out where she was buried as her grave should definitely be marked.  Perhaps a marker should be put up somewhere as well.

Again, Quite a Woman.  --Old B-Runner

In Honor of Veterans Day-- Part 2: Growth of the National Cemetery System

Through the years with succeeding wars, more national cemeteries were needed and were created.

In 1994, the VA conducted a future burial needs assessment that ranked the most according to veteran population.  Based on that report, seven national cemeteries were built between 1992 and 2001.  One of those was the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery, created in October 1999, making it the 117th national cemetery within the Department of Veterans Affairs National Cemetery Administration.

In total, 17 new millennium cemeteries were constructed between 1997 and 2010, making it the fifth-most significant period of growth for America's national cemeteries and was the largest expansion period for the system in total acreage since the Civil War.

Since 1862, more than 3.8 million burials have taken place in national cemeteries.  The existing 131 national cemeteries.  The existing 131 national cemeteries. 33 soldiers and government lots, and Confederate lots (yes, Confederates are buried in the national cemeteries) including Arlington National Cemetery, contain more than 20,000 acres.  The Confederates are considered to be American soldiers just as those who fought for the Union.

--Old B-Runner

In Honor of Veterans Day-- Part 1: Lincoln and the National Cemeteries-- Camp Butler

From the Nov. 6, 2015, Chicago Tribune "Rest in peace: Abraham Lincoln National cemetery serves veterans and their families."

According to the U.S. Department of veterans Affairs, the National Cemetery Administration began because of the mounting deaths during the Civil War.  Congress empowered President Abraham Lincoln "to purchase cemetery grounds and cause them to be securely enclosed, to be used as a national cemetery for the soldiers who shall die in the service of the country."

This was the first U.S. legislation to establish and put into motion the concept of a national cemetery to honor the fallen.

There were 14 national cemeteries established in 1862, one of which was Camp Butler National Cemetery located in Sangamon County near Springfield, Illinois.  It occupies a portion of Camp Butler (not named for Union General Benjamin Butler), the second-largest Union military training camp in Illinois during the war.

In addition to the Union soldiers, there are also Confederate soldiers buried there who died while prisoners of the North.  Other wars represented among the burials are the Spanish-American War, the two World Wars, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.

In 1997, Camp Butler National Cemetery was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

--Old B-R'er

The Interesting Story of Black Union Sailor Samuel H. Dalton-- Part 2

In April 1864, a Confederate battery opened fire on the Juliet, killing 15 men and the ship was badly damaged and temporarily out of action..  Samuel H. Dalton was later transferred to the USS Hastings where he served until his discharge at Cairo in December 1864.

After the war, in 1887, Dalton bought property in Murphysboro from Mary Logan, executor of her husband's estate.  John A Logan was a racist at one point and had even fathered Illinois' severe Black Codes which prohibited blacks from living in the state.  Evidently he had changed his mind for his widow to have sold property to Dalton as she would never have gone against her late husband's wishes.

--Old B-R'er

The Interesting Story of Black Union Sailor Samuel H. Dalton-- Part 1

From the Jan. 12, 2014, Murphysboro, Ill. Southern "Civil War Time Line: Dalton was a forgotten veteran" compiled by P. Michael Jones, director of the General John A. Logan Museum in Murphrysboro.

Early 20th century obituaries were not as common as they are today, but there was one for Samuel H. Dalton, who died June 7, 1920 in Murphysboro.  This man led a very interesting life.  Dalton, a black man living in a segregated world, served in the Union Navy.

He was born a slave near Richmond, Virginia, about 1839.  At the beginning of the war, he was a field hand in Bolivar County, Mississippi and technically became a free man on January 1, 1863, when Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation took place.

Actually, it was nine more months before Dalton achieved his freedom when he ran away and joined the Union Navy at White Station, Mississippi.  Afterwards, he served on the USS Juliet for seven months patrolling the Yazoo River as an escort for other ships.

--Old B-Runner