Vole 6, Issue 1 Spring 2010

Buckeye Patriot ~ Page 1

From The President’s Desk Compatriot Troy Bailey (tbailey@suite224.net)

~ Spring 2010 ~

Compatriots, We are at the be-ginning of a potentially very busy year. I hope that many of you will be able to attend and participate in the activi-ties and programs that take place in the upcoming months. I have attempted to outline a number of the ac-tivities I have planned for the u p c o m i n g y e a r . In addition to our normal or traditional Color Guard activities and parades, we will be conducting two gravestone dedications. The first, probably to be sched-uled for June or July will be the dedication of a new head-stone for Ezra Gregory, and will be held in Cork ceme-tery in Cork, Harpersfield Twp. Patriot Gregory does not currently have a marked grave. The dedication and grave marking will be con-ducted in coordination with Vera Sommers and the Harpersfield Twp. Trustees. Ms. Sommers is a descendant

of Patriot Gregory. The other will be a dedication/placement of an marker for a Revolutionary War Vet-eran, Caleb Holcomb, who is buried in Windsor. The need for a SAR Marker It was brought to by a descendant of his, Jim Fletcher who cur-rently resides in New Zeland. I hope to schedule a brief program later in the summer and place an appropriate marker on the grave. We are looking forward to assisting with the hosting of SAR’s Annual Con-gress. Details of the Con-gress which will be held in Cleveland Ohio on June 24th through July 1st were pub-lished in a recent edition of the SAR Magazine. We have received a call from our State Congress Chair Larry Per-kins. I have attached a “Volunteer Sheet” sign up sheet for you consideration. If you have any questions about what any of the duties listed entail, please fee free to contact me or

Washington's Purple Heart By Audel H. Hicks

Editor's Note: This article was reprinted from the May 1988 Edition of the Valley

Compatriot Newsletter On February 22, 1932, C o m pa t r i o t / G e ne r a l Douglas MacArthur, Army Chief of Staff, issued the following Gen-eral Orders: "Purple Heart - - By order of the President of the United States, the Purple Heart,

established by General George Washington at New-burgh, August 7th, 1782, during the War of the Revo-lution, is hereby revived out of respect of his memory and military achievements." And so General George Washington had when he directed, " . . . . . .that whenever any singular meri-torious action is performed, the author of it shall be permitted to wear on his facings over his left breast, the figure of a heart in purple cloth or silk .........the road to Glory in a patriot army and a free country is then open to all." This order is to be considered as a "permanent one." But it wasn't permanent! During the War of the American Revolution, Gen-eral George Washington devised Contd. pg. 2 "badges" of distinction to be worn by enlisted men

Points of Interest:

• Flag Certificates

• Joint Program

• Oration Contest

• New Members

• Help Needed

Inside this issue:

President’s Message

1

Purple Hearts

1

Cherry Tree

2

Awards

3

Color Guard Activities 3

2010 Chapter Officers 3

New Members 4

The Buckeye Patriot NORTHEASTERN OHIO CHAPTER SONS OF THE

AMERICAN REVOLUTION

Compatriot Larry Perkins at perkins6275@sbcglobal.net. Compatriot Perkins has informed me that at the SAR Congress 2010, there will a special workshop de-signed for those of use who are involved with our Color Guard. This workshop is included in the Congress registration fee, However, participation in the workshop is free to those who are help-ing who volunteer to help. I will provide you more infor-mation as it become known to me. I would like to award at lest 4 SAR Flag Cer-tificates this year., and I will need your yelp. Flag Certifi-cates can be awarded to any-one. So if you have a neighbor, friend, relative or just see a home that regularly displays the American Flag, please let me know who they are and I will make arrange-ments to conduct the pres-entation. I look forward to hearing from you. . ….

When you remove the peo-ple’s right to bear arms, you

create slaves.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The American Revolution

would never have happened with gun control

Cherry Tree planted at the Ashtabula County Court House in Honor of President George Washington …………..

Page 2 The Buckeye Patriot

and officers - - a chevron and a badge. The chevron was a ser-vice stripe and came to be known today as the "hash mark." . Continued from page #1:The service stripe was to be worn on the left sleeve of the coat as a symbol of loyal military service. Three years for service with "bravery, fidelity and good con-duct" were the criteria for earning the chevron. The second was a Badge of Military Merit. It was designed to be of purple cloth or silk in the form of a heart edged with narrow lace or binding. The recipients' names were to be inscribed in a Book of Merit. General Washington awarded his Badge of Military Merit three times only! Two of those badges exist today -- - one in Washington, D.C. at the Society of Cincinnati's Ander-son House and the other at the New Windsor Cantonment, New York, All other records, references and physical evidence relating to the Badges during the Revolutionary War have long vanished. After the Revolution and through World War One, the badge lay in disuse and was not awarded, contrary to General Wash-ington's orders, although private efforts from time to time had been made to reactivate it. As the Bicentennial of the birth of Washington was drawing near, Army Chief of Staff, General C h a r l e s P . S u m m e r a l l drafted a bill in 1927 for Congress to revive it. The bill floun-dered so the Army withdrew it in 1928 but prepared to do battle at a later date. That date came when Douglas MacAr-thur succeeded General Summerall! Initially Miss Elizabeth Will of the Army Office of the Quartermaster created a design for the new badge which

would thereafter be called the "Purple Heart". John R. Sin-nock, Chief Engraver of the United States Mint in Philadel-phia, was commissioned to refine the design and mold a plas-ter model in May of 1931. In 1926 Sinnock had designed a half dollar coin which commemorated the Sesquicentennial of American Inde-pendence. For the first time a living President, Calvin Coo-lidge, was depicted on a coin. On the obverse side Sinnock placed George Washington in the forefront and Coolidge be-hind. On the reverse was an accurate model of our famous Liberty Bell! Later John Sinnock created the Roosevelt dime and the Benjamin Franklin half dollar. When redesigning Miss Will's creation he replaced a leaf in the center of the medal with the profile of George Washington. On February 22nd 1932, General Douglas MacArthur as resulting from a singularly meritorious act of essential service." was ready and introduced his newly reinstated Badge of Military Merit - "The Purple Heart." At the same time, he issued guidelines to the Army defining the conditions under which the award would be made : "[For] a wound which necessitates treatment by a medical officer and which is received in action with an enemy, [and] may in the judgment of the commander authorized to make the award be construed

On the occasion of the 200th Anniversary of Presi-dent George Washington’s death, our chapter along with a local boy scout group donated and planted an official George Washington Cherry Tree. The tree was dedicated in honor of President Washington.

The tree, at the time was just a seedling and was planted in the court yard at the Ashtabula County Court house. As you can see to the left, the seedling has grown into a beautiful mature tree. Next time you are in the Jefferson area, stop by the court house and check it out.

NEO Chapter #12 Oration Contestant

SAR Flag Certificate Nominate a friend, relative,

neighbor or local business. SAR

SAR Flag Certificate are awarded for displaying their patriotism.

Ask for details

June/July: SAR Congress 2010, Cleveland. July: Ft. Laurens, Boli-var, Ohio August: Madison Old Fashioned Days; Grave-stone Dedication; September: Austinburg County Days; The Geneva Grape Jamboree October: Ashtabula Covered Bridge Festival.

Page 3

2010 Officers...

At the November 7th Veterans Day Program, the following were elected to serve as 2010 Chapter Officers:

President: Troy Bailey 1st VP: Dick McFeaters 2nd VP: Jim Pildner Secretary: Brian Cook Treasurer: Brian Johnson Registrar: Tim Ward Historian: Jim Blake Genealogist: Ron Workman

The Buckeye Patriot

Jefferson High School senior, Mat thew Osborne was selected as the Northeastern Ohio Chapter #12 Sons of the American Revolution, Joseph S. Rumbaugh Orator. The theme of his oration, " We Fight, Get Beat, Rise and Fight Again" was given to NEO Chapter SAR members on Saturday April 10th , 2010. Mr. Osborne was awarded the Joseph S. Rumbaugh Oration Medal, and a check in the amount of $100.00 for his participation in the competition. Mr. Osborne will compete in the Ohio Sons of the American Revolution, State Oration Contest on Saturday May 1st , in Chillicothe Ohio.

2010 Color Guard

Activities

April: Maple Festival, Chardon Ohio May: Blossom Time Festival, Chagrin Falls: Patriotic Concert; Ash-tabula City Parade

Guardsmen: Bailey, Troy—Commander Bacon, Kirk Baker, Tom Coming, Mark Johnson, Brian Jolly, Patrick Lum, Chip McFeaters, Dick Pildner, Jim Robinson, Terry Ward, Kevin Ward, Tim Workman, Ron

Genealogy Workshop hosted by The NEO Chapter #12 Sons of the American Revolution and the Ashtabula County Genealogical Society. Presenter, Wallace D. Huskonen, CGRS demonstrated and discussed the genealogy membership sites “Ancestry.com” and “Footnote.com” at 1 PM April 10 2010 in the meeting room of Geneva Public Library. He also talked about and explained the process for applying membership in the Sons of the American Revolution. NEO Chapter #12 SAR and the ACGS SAR members, gene-alogist and the members of the public attended. An avid genealogist for more than a decade, Wally Huskonen is an SAR Member and has researched his family history back to a wide mix of original immigrant ancestors, ranging from 17th century Dutch and English settlers in New York and New England to his paternal grandparents arriving from Finland in the early 20th century.

As a part of our 2010 George Washington Birthday program. Dr. John Patterson (above) presented a informative and interesting talk on the life and contribu-tions of President George Washington.

From: Compatriot Troy Bailey NEO Chapter #12 SAR 1659 Chapel Road Jefferson, Ohio

44047

To:

Check our Web Page for more information http://www.neo12sar.net

Welcome New Chapter Members

Ray McCunne, not pictured, has transferred his member-ship our Chap-ter. Welcome Ray!

Buckeye Patriot Page 4

Help Needed!! A few Good Men and

Women are still needed to help at the upcoming

National Congress. Compatriots, We have received a second call for help with the activities that will be taking place at the National Congress this summer. The congress will be held in Cleveland June 24th through July 1st. 2010. Please contact me or Compatriot Larry Perkins (peerkins6275@sbcglobal.net) to volun-teer or with questions.

Bryan Loucks and William Howe (above center) were inducted at our President Washington’s Birthday.