Sierra
04-07-2005, 02:34 PM
I am a life member of several veterans’ organizations here in the small county I live in. We had an interesting event occur last night at our American Legion Post Meeting. A gentleman came to our meeting carrying a large bronze plaque; on it were the names of the founding members of our county’s post. We were all amazed to see this plaque because we’d thought it lost generations ago. Here’s the story:
In 1921 when the post was founded the charter members two of whom were actual civil war veterans had their names put on a bronze plaque that was than placed in the front of the new Legion Post building. There is stayed until the late 1940’s when a fire destroyed the building and not much besides the plaque was saved. The plaque was placed by the county on a memorial at the town cemetery that commemorated the counties war dead. About 5 years later in 1952 a vandal or vandals destroyed the small memorial; the plaque was stolen and was never seen again.
That’s where things stood at least until last night, when an elderly gentleman came to us and said his brother had passed away several months ago, before dying he confessed he was one of the vandals that stole the plaque as a Youngman. He told his brother it had gnawed at his conscious all theses years, but he feared the censure coming forward would bring him. He asked that after his death that the plaque be returned to the Legion along with a note of apology he’d written. True to his word the surviving brother retrieved the plaque where it had been hidden over 40 years before, at the bottom of an old mine shaft on their family property. The brother did as he was bidden and he brought the plaque to us last night.
After much discussion we decided that since we were planning to dedicate a new flagpole in front of our Legion Hall to that we will add a new granite pedestal that will serve as the new home for this old plaque.
In 1921 when the post was founded the charter members two of whom were actual civil war veterans had their names put on a bronze plaque that was than placed in the front of the new Legion Post building. There is stayed until the late 1940’s when a fire destroyed the building and not much besides the plaque was saved. The plaque was placed by the county on a memorial at the town cemetery that commemorated the counties war dead. About 5 years later in 1952 a vandal or vandals destroyed the small memorial; the plaque was stolen and was never seen again.
That’s where things stood at least until last night, when an elderly gentleman came to us and said his brother had passed away several months ago, before dying he confessed he was one of the vandals that stole the plaque as a Youngman. He told his brother it had gnawed at his conscious all theses years, but he feared the censure coming forward would bring him. He asked that after his death that the plaque be returned to the Legion along with a note of apology he’d written. True to his word the surviving brother retrieved the plaque where it had been hidden over 40 years before, at the bottom of an old mine shaft on their family property. The brother did as he was bidden and he brought the plaque to us last night.
After much discussion we decided that since we were planning to dedicate a new flagpole in front of our Legion Hall to that we will add a new granite pedestal that will serve as the new home for this old plaque.