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We have gotten such a good response to this story on the AC Facebook page that I thought we might as well share it on the forum.
Grave injustice: Group fights to reclaim cemetery's lost Medal of Honor recipients
By Cristina Corbin
Hidden in the jungle-like underbrush and Japanese knotweed smothering tombstones in an abandoned Philadelphia cemetery, Sam Ricks found his calling: to uncover and restore the graves of America's bravest -- forgotten heroes dating back to the Revolutionary War, 21 of whom are Medal of Honor recipients.
Ricks and his co-workers are painstakingly chopping through over-growth with machetes at Mount Moriah Cemetery, an estimated 380-acre historic graveyard straddling Philadelphia and Yeadon, Pa., in a quest to preserve history. Buried within the decrepit cemetery are 2,300 Navy and Marines dating from the Revolutionary War to the War of 1812 all the way to the Korean and Vietnam wars, according to Ricks. The graveyard is also the final resting place for 404 Union soldiers who fought in the Civil War, a few sailors, and two Confederate prisoners of war from the Battle of Sharpsburg.
And then there are the unmarked or dilapidated graves of heroes waiting to be identified.
"This is the heritage of our country," Ricks told FoxNews.com. "These stones -- they're not high-ranking officials or generals -- these are the enlisted men who fought the battles. And we're trying to tell their story.
"These guys didn't write history, they made it," he said.
The largest cemetery in Pennsylvania, Mount Moriah was officially abandoned in April 2011. At the time, the city was poised to cite the cemetery for various code violations, according to Ricks, a Philadelphia resident who has Confederate ancestors buried in Virginia.
"The employees just up and left," he said. "They put up a notice that said it was closed to burials."
Following a public uproar, the city intervened and brought in equipment to cut the grass. But it did not take responsibility for the graveyard that holds the largest number of Medal of Honor recipients in the state, Ricks said.
For information on how to donate to restoration efforts, visit FriendsofMountMoriahCemetery.org
Full story with photos is here - http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/09/27...or-recipients/
Grave injustice: Group fights to reclaim cemetery's lost Medal of Honor recipients
By Cristina Corbin
Hidden in the jungle-like underbrush and Japanese knotweed smothering tombstones in an abandoned Philadelphia cemetery, Sam Ricks found his calling: to uncover and restore the graves of America's bravest -- forgotten heroes dating back to the Revolutionary War, 21 of whom are Medal of Honor recipients.
Ricks and his co-workers are painstakingly chopping through over-growth with machetes at Mount Moriah Cemetery, an estimated 380-acre historic graveyard straddling Philadelphia and Yeadon, Pa., in a quest to preserve history. Buried within the decrepit cemetery are 2,300 Navy and Marines dating from the Revolutionary War to the War of 1812 all the way to the Korean and Vietnam wars, according to Ricks. The graveyard is also the final resting place for 404 Union soldiers who fought in the Civil War, a few sailors, and two Confederate prisoners of war from the Battle of Sharpsburg.
And then there are the unmarked or dilapidated graves of heroes waiting to be identified.
"This is the heritage of our country," Ricks told FoxNews.com. "These stones -- they're not high-ranking officials or generals -- these are the enlisted men who fought the battles. And we're trying to tell their story.
"These guys didn't write history, they made it," he said.
The largest cemetery in Pennsylvania, Mount Moriah was officially abandoned in April 2011. At the time, the city was poised to cite the cemetery for various code violations, according to Ricks, a Philadelphia resident who has Confederate ancestors buried in Virginia.
"The employees just up and left," he said. "They put up a notice that said it was closed to burials."
Following a public uproar, the city intervened and brought in equipment to cut the grass. But it did not take responsibility for the graveyard that holds the largest number of Medal of Honor recipients in the state, Ricks said.
For information on how to donate to restoration efforts, visit FriendsofMountMoriahCemetery.org
Full story with photos is here - http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/09/27...or-recipients/
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