DEDICATION CEREMONY

Section 13 U.S.C.T.
Washington Cemetery
Washington Courthouse, Ohio

Wednesday, May 22, 2002
1:00 P.M.

The Washington High School Research History Class has worked hard for several years trying to document all of the USCT buried in Ohio. It has been a long and exhausting journey but well worth the effort. Recently, they have taken on a new project to further honor these men. The class has decided to replace some of the markers, in Washington Cemetery and clean the ones that were damaged.

The project, beginning in Fall of 2001, involved much paperwork. Mark Bihl, Alan Henderson, Bryan Young, and others spent hours working at the Washington Cemetery with the cemetery superintendent, Rankin Kirkpatrick.

The students were given a list of soldiers buried in the cemetery by the class advisor, Paul LaRue. They spent their time getting information on the soldiers and filling out forms to prove who was buried in the cemetery. During this process, Bihl was in contact with Washington, DC. He had to know when the markers they ordered from the government would be in so that he could be there to check them off.

After all of the markers had arrived, the class began to make frequent trips to the cemetery. The initial trip was to dig out the old markers. This was quite a task for the students, as each of the markers weighed approximately 250 pounds.

They first dug out around the marker until it could easily be moved. Once this step in the process was done, the cemetery workers evened out the ground to prepare it for the new stones. The next couple of trips for the students involved loading the new markers on a truck to be moved to Section Thirteen. Once all of these things had been completed, the markers were ready to be set, The entire class spent a day at the cemetery digging holes and setting markers. It was a sweltering day outside, and the holes had to be perfect. The students didn't complain, however, and ended up setting the majority of the 35 markers. Several more trips followed, in which they finished setting the stones to complete "Soldiers' Row." This is the front row of Section Thirteen where most of the USCT are buried.

 The old markers soon received attention, as they were in need of cleaning. For a few of the students, this was the fun part. Kirkpatrick brought the power washer to Section Thirteen, and they all began to clean. Soon the old markers looked brighter and newer. A few more trips followed this one for the finishing touches.

The class has worked hard this year to honor these soldiers. They have learned a great deal about their local history, and they are proud to represent the community. Their greatest reward has been providing a proper memorial for the soldiers who had been forgotten.

The entire class is working on "Soldiers' Row" in the above picture

Program

Tour of Section #13

Soldiers Buried in Section # 13

We would like to thank these people and organizations who provided so much help throughout this process:

Herman Adams VFW Post # 6488
Homer Lawson American Legion Post # 653
Paul H. Hughey American Legion Post # 25
VFW Post # 3762
Fraternal Order of Eagles Lodge # 423
Washington Senior High School
Washington City School Board
Federal Office of Veterans' Affairs
Burke's Monument Company

A very special thanks goes to
Rankin Kirkpatrick and
Mary Ann Puckett of the Washington Cemetery
none of this would have been possible without you.

Class Members

GO TO PHOTOS

GO TO BENNIE MCRAE'S COMMENTS

GO TO U.S.C.T. BURIED IN OHIO

GO TO FREEDOM FIGHTERS - UNITED STATES COLORED TROOPS IN THE CIVIL WAR

LWF Communications
Trotwood, Ohio