WEST PITTSTON, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — It was a moment of history and honor in West Pittston as dozens gathered to remember the first local lives lost in the Revolutionary War.
The First to Fall Ceremony was held Sunday afternoon at Jenkins-Harding Cemetery.
It's only a few miles from where Patriot Benjamin Harding and other farmers were killed in 1778 while tending crops, sparking the Wyoming Massacre just days later.
This year marks the fourth time the West Pittston Historical Society has held the event.
Members of the 24th Connecticut Militia Regiment wore full period dress, while paying tribute to those who gave their lives for the country.
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"We need to remember our history, especially Revolutionary War history, none of us would be here if it wasn't for the soldiers who fought and died," 24th Connecticut Militia Regiment President Sherry Emershaw stated.
"To think back at the men who lived this every day, they didn't have tents, they didn't have food and water like we have. I can sit here and play soldier for a weekend or a couple days. But I know I'm going home to a nice bed, while they didn't," 24th Connecticut Militia Regiment Captain Gregory Boyer told 28/22 News.
There will be a separate remembrance event for the Massacre of Wyoming at 10:00 a.m. on the Fourth of July at the Wyoming Monument National Historic Site.
