Hi Sharon: No I've never met Mr. Hanthorn.....at least ways, not that I know of but I can tell already that he's someone who I'd greatly admire and enjoy making his acquaintance. I wish there were hundreds more like him doin' for the other cemeteries what he did for the leon cemetery. Wow!.....that would be absolutely spectacular. I don't think any community would be ticked off if the leon lyons club purchased and emplaced these lyons purchased markers.....good heavens, i can't hardly imagine that. i have several uncles in and around the decatur cemetery and i sure wouldn't be aggravated if the lyons did that for him/them. i just can't imagine that, sharon,.....but then i've been gone for close to 50 years now so i'm sure you have a better.......grasp of that than I do. Thanx for the heads up! You betcha! I definitely agree that takin' on the task of marking each and every veteran's grave in the leon cemetery would be "quite a task"! absolutely! it's kind of ,.,.......disparaging........or better yet disheartening to think about why it fell to the lyons to take this task on instead of an organization such as the American legion or veterans of foreign wars......but, in any case, he saw a need and hopped to it and the veterans there in leon all owe him a huge debt of gratitude. Naw, i really didn't know if they were plastic or not..........didn't mean it in a disparaging manner anyway. the one's i've seen were mass produced and made out of plastic or something similar......certainly not stone or bronze with inscriptions. that's not a slam! that's good that they stay out all the time in all kinds of weather etc. that would really be a job to replace every year for decorations day, veterans day, flag day and the like. i've been on that end of it.....not me personally, per se, but in charge of details who's job it was was to put the flag in the ground......we didn't have these holders we're talkin' 'bout.......just lined 'em up with the center of the stone or marker, put the toe of the boot against the marker, and stuck the flag into the ground as vertically as we could up against the heel of the boot and moved on to the next one. yep, that's true, Sharon, there's several kinds of markers that the va provides.....BUT none of them holds flags and none of them can be purchased......i should prob'ly put an "out" on that. I retired from the VA something like 5 years ago.....but would be real surprised if they did something like that........wouldn't mind it if they did, would just be s'prised is all. that's interesting about a union flag being placed on the grave of your CSA ancestor. there's several reasons how that could have happened, the most obvious being that the "emplacer" didn't have a clue........but of course, after the civil war, he may have joined with the bluebellies in fighting the indians. an awful lot of bushwhackers did that very thing. Hell, half of Custer's men, well not half but an awful lot of 'em, were former rebs. they were call "galvanized yankees" after they joined up with the U.S. Army.....same thing happened again during the 1st world war.....to a certain degree....but not nearly as much as joined up during the Indian Wars effort. Also, there were tons and tons of bushwhackers who decided they'd rather fight for the union than against it and joined the Union's forces or the GAR.....even more so after "bloody kansas". You may have a medallion instead of a marker bolted on the tomb stone, sharon. the va provides either a stone, marker or medallilon. I definitely believe you about Samantha. I mean, I don't know her but I know many like her.....many of her contemporaries and it takes a "special breed of cat" (that's not a slam) to do what these folks do and they're greatly undersung.......what's unfortunate is that most.....yes, that's right, MOST veterans don't even know that they're out there..........and they can be and most times are a great great help.......not to just veterans but to veteran's families too. OK, thanx sharon, for lettin' me blab on a bit......you take care up there.....mac ----- Original Message ----- From: "Sharon Becker" <srbecker@iowatelecom.net> To: <iadecatu@rootsweb.com>; "Ronald M McClure" <rmcclure@hot.rr.com>; <rjbixby@grm.net> Cc: <decctyva@grm.net> Sent: Wednesday, May 19, 2010 1:53 PM Subject: Re: [IADECATU] Veterans > Denmark is a long ways from Leon, Mac. > You need to re-read what Samantha said via Bob's e-mail. > I didn't clip this response so you can scroll down and re-read it. > > Did you ever meet Earl Hanthorn? Personally? > > He was a wonderful, thoughtful, and caring person. I knew > him when we were both members of Loving Chapel's congregation. > > It is not uncommon for a Lions Club, boy scout troop, girl scout trooup, > 4-H club (the list is endless) to address a need for a local concern. I'm > sure the other Lions Clubs in Decatur Co. would have been ticked off > if Leon's Chapter came into cemeteries in their neck of the woods. > > BTW, taking on Leon's cemetery alone was quite a task. Don't you think? > > For the record, those markers Bob and Samantha are talking about are not > plastic. But I believe you already knew that. > > The markers (I call them flag holders) are out forever, too. They help > someone > like me who is looking for veteran gravestones. > > There's several types of markers through the VA. Since Mom & Dad already > had > their stone set years ago, we got a bronze plaque that is bolted into the > gravestone > for my Dad. > > Samantha is wonderful, too. My mother is deaf and she was a source of > information, > comfort, and care for my parents during my father's final days, and for my > mother > after my father died. She was very considerate toward my mother, knowing > she is > deaf and made sure Mom understood all of the complicated paperwork that > was > involved with my Dad's case. Samantha took a lot of that pain out during > my mother's > time of grief. > > I don't know how often this has happened - but it happened in Boone > County. My > gr-gr-grandfather was a bushwhacker in Missouri during the Civil War. > After the > war, he came to Boone County, thinking there was a bounty on his head for > being > a bushwhacker (a lot of the Confederate soldiers thought that, too). At > this gravesite > there's a G.A.R. flag holder and they put a flag on his grave when they > set them out > on the cemetery. We don't know how or why - because in the eyes of the > "Union" > folks, he wouldn't have been deserving of a flag. > > Sharon R. Becker > Ringgold County IAGenWeb Coordinator > srbecker@iowatelecom.net > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Ronald M McClure" <rmcclure@hot.rr.com> > To: "Ronald M McClure" <rmcclure@hot.rr.com>; <rjbixby@grm.net>; > <iadecatu@rootsweb.com> > Cc: <decctyva@grm.net> > Sent: Wednesday, May 19, 2010 1:04 PM > Subject: Re: [IADECATU] Veterans > > >> ok gang, there's a bad mistake or mis-understandin' goin' on here. the >> lyons and earl hanthorn did not provide any, say again, any headstones to >> any veterans, anywhere. what they provided was these markers or flag >> holders that you see a lot of times beside the headstone. if the lions >> or >> earl hanthorn did not pay for them then it may have been the >> county......although i don't see how they could've gotten away with >> .........doin' that for one cemetery, for one veteran and not >> another........maybe a "squeaky wheel" thing. >> >> But, in any case, as i said earlier, the va will supply an appropriately >> engraved headstone (a real honest to goodness headstone) for any veteran >> who's headstone is missing or damaged.....regardless of how long ago the >> veteran passed away or is buried.....(I hope it goes without saying that >> the >> guy can't have a dishonorable discharge.......what? you say you don't >> know >> what kind of discharge he got?.....no sweat.....the va does.....just make >> the application and the rest of it will take care of it's self...... >> >> It requires paperwork, of course, but a call to your county VA rep will >> either process that for you or assist you in the application and >> expediting >> processing. i believe i put out earlier what her ph# and location >> are.....if not i can prob'ly find it again. >> >> remember, the markers are these small "plastic?" things meant to hold a >> flag >> or something that are generally put out on special days......that the >> county >> prob'ly paid for for occasions like decoration day ceremonies. the head >> stone is what stays out "forever" and has the soldier's name and other >> appropriate data engraved on or in it......mac >> >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: "Ronald M McClure" <rmcclure@hot.rr.com> >> To: <iadecatu@rootsweb.com> >> Cc: <decctyva@grm.net> >> Sent: Wednesday, May 19, 2010 10:38 AM >> Subject: Re: [IADECATU] Veterans >> >> >>> bob: i don't understand her clarification at all......is she saying >>> that >>> the va won't provide new stones, replacement stones, and/or initial >>> stones for unmarked or badly marked graves? >>> >>> is she saying that earl hanthorn through the leon lions paid for markers >>> for all veterans buried in leon cemetery?.....or is she saying that the >>> lions and hanthorn requested the va provided the markers and va then did >>> so? i find it exceedingly difficult to believe than anyone paid >>> anything >>> to the va for markers for veterans....... >>> >>> is the county board of supervisors saying they'll provide the markers >>> alluded to or are they saying the va will provide the marker......... >>> >>> and what's that business about "purchasing" markers from the VA all >>> about........can you confirm that with her......that she's gonna charge >>> 25 >>> bucks to provide a marker for anyone that died more'n 3 years ago? >>> >>> something stinks in denmark!.......mac >>> >>> cc: samantha schaff >>> >>> ----- Original Message ----- >>> From: "Bob Bixby" <rjbixby@grm.net> >>> To: <iadecatu@rootsweb.com> >>> Sent: Tuesday, May 18, 2010 2:52 PM >>> Subject: [IADECATU] Veterans >>> >>> >>>> Here is a clarification from Samatha in the Veteran's office here in >>>> Leon. >>>> Bob Bixby >>>> >>>> Bob, let me clarify what your messages say below. Earl Hanthorn, >>>> through >>>> Leon Lions, provided markers to all Veterans buried in the Leon >>>> Cemetery >>>> up >>>> to July 1, 2007. After July 1, 2007, the County Board of Supervisors >>>> said >>>> they would provide a bronze grave marker at any cemetery in Decatur >>>> County >>>> to any honorably discharged Veteran that died on or after July 1, 2007. >>>> However, if a Veteran that was buried in a cemetery other than the Leon >>>> Cemetery before July 1, 2007, the family of the deceased Veteran can >>>> purchase a bronze grave marker from the Decatur County Veterans Affairs >>>> office for $25. >>>> Thanks, Samantha Schaff, Decatur County VA Office, decctyva@grm.net, >>>> 641-446-7494 >>>> www.iagenweb.org/decatur >>>> ------------------------------- >>>> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to >>>> IADECATU-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the >>>> quotes in the subject and the body of the message >>>> >>> >> >> >> www.iagenweb.org/decatur >> ------------------------------- >> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to >> IADECATU-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the >> quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 8.5.437 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/2883 - Release Date: 05/19/10 > 06:26:00 > > > -- > I am using the free version of SPAMfighter. > We are a community of 7 million users fighting spam. > SPAMfighter has removed 1438 of my spam emails to date. > Get the free SPAMfighter here: http://www.spamfighter.com/len > > The Professional version does not have this message > > >