DALLAS, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — The service and sacrifice, honor and memory of our military veterans are spread all throughout north eastern Pennsylvania. This Memorial Day, a local historian provides a closer look at the notable soldiers buried in many of our area's cemeteries.
Many local military veterans being remembered this Memorial Day have served in some of the earliest wars and for some of the highest people.
A Luzerne County presidential historian is providing insight into their significance here in NEPA.
A flag placed near a grave is a sight to see in many cemeteries across the country and right here in northeastern Pennsylvania.
"It's pretty touching. And I feel some people don't realize until they go there and see it for themselves," Presidential Historian Larry Cook said.
The memory of a veteran's military service is specially honored on Memorial Day.
But Cook says the service has been remembered for centuries, dating back to the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, like veterans buried here in Eaton Cemetery in Dallas.
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"We are fortunate in this area because, like you mentioned, not many areas have the history we have, but we are rooted right to the beginnings," Cook explained.
In the Hanover Green Cemetery lies Rufus Bennett, who served as a personal life guard to General George Washington.
Also buried there is Andrew Lee, an intelligence gatherer for George Washington, or better known as a spy.
GAR, the Grand Army of the Republic, was engraved on plaques.
The veterans organization established Memorial Day in 1868, initially called Decoration Day.
"We call these fallen people in these early wars men, but they are really boys," Cook told 28/22 News.
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At the Wyoming monument along Wyoming Avenue are 227 American flags.
They symbolize each person killed in the Battle of Wyoming when loyalists and native americans attacked patriot militia men in 1778.
"Many patriots buried under that monument in Wyoming, so here in Luzerne County, our roots go back to the founding of this country," Cook added.
As holidays pass by, Cook hopes there is an infinite honor for these brave men and women in the valley.
"That they recognize and appreciate them, and that they continue to appreciate them, and continue to do things to thank our veterans that have served," Cook continued.
Cook says there are thousands of veterans buried throughout our region, all with their own significance and importance to our country.
