May
25
Echoes of the Past, Hope for the Future
Two months ago, I stood in the cemetery at the Andersonville National Historic Site in Georgia and looked out at the rows and rows of nearly identical white gravestones. My paternal great-grandfather, G. Oliver Riggs, stood in that cemetery in November 1906 with other members of the 51st Iowa Regimental Band, his cornet to his lips. At the close of a memorial service for Iowa soliders who died in the prison camp at Andersonville, G. Oliver played “Taps.”
Earlier today, I stood in the Northfield Armory, the rain location for the 2015 Memorial Day Tribute to All Veterans. The building was packed with people of all ages, from infant to centenarian, and members of the Northfield High School band provided music for the occasion.
Earlier today, I stood in the Northfield Armory, the rain location for the 2015 Memorial Day Tribute to All Veterans. The building was packed with people of all ages, from infant to centenarian, and members of the Northfield High School band provided music for the occasion.