Heroes of battle of Gettysburg. 1938.

Mike Serpa

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Joined
Jan 24, 2013
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Heroes of battle of Gettysburg paid tribute by surviving brothers-in-arms. Washington, D.C., May 30, Although there are only a few of the boys in blue and gray left, two of them were strong enough today, Memorial Day, to drop flowers from the air on the Gettysburg battlefield to honor their comrades who lost their lives in this historic battle of the Civil War. Here we see, left to right: William H. Jackson, 95, of Washington, D.C., 5/30/38.
https://www.loc.gov/item/hec2009011380/
 
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Priceless! John Hartwell has been delving into the 75th anniversary quite a bit. Must have been an astonishing experience for the vets! He found that three of the elderly men actually passed away either at Gettysburg or a hospital, the result of heart attack suffered there. Gettysburg's last victims or were they happier out of the rocking chairs and lap rugs of old age, somewhere in their respected past and did not mind leaving the planet where so many friends had?
 
Thank you @Mike Serpa for sharing this! Imagine ... never would any of the men present at Gettysburg during these three fateful days in July 1863 have thought that some day in the future some of their comrades would board a flying machine that would take them in the skies over the battlefield to see it from above! If any of them would have said something like this maybe on July 3rd, getting ready for the Pickett/Pettigrew assault, he would have been considered crazy and the thought would have provoked a good laugh among "the boys"!
What have these two men seen in their lifetime! What thoughts must have crossed their minds, looking down on the field where so many of their comrades have died, so many lives were changed forever! Would it have felt like a lifetime away? Or maybe as if it had been just a few years ago, like we sometimes cannot believe that crucial events in our lives have taken place more then 20 or 30 or even more years ago?
What excellent food for thought, thanks again!
 
Great photo. An idea who the CS Vets is. He is defiantly wearing a UDC Southern Cross of Honor and a UCV uniform.
 
As Paul Harvey said "And Now We Know The Rest Of The Story"
https://parkviewdc.com/2011/05/30/r...former-veterans-maj-robert-w-wison-1845-1939/
Remembering One of Park View’s Former Veterans — Maj. Robert W. Wison (1845-1939)

May 30, 2011
robert-wilson-one.jpg

Civil War veterans William H. Jackson (far left) and Maj. Robert W. Wilson (second from left) with veterans Sergt. Peter Pierre Smith and Col. H. C. Rizer: May 30, 1938

Not surprisingly with the neighborhood bordering the Soldiers’ Home, Park View has been the home of many veterans over the years. Among them was Civil War veteran Robert W. Wilson. Wilson died on February 27, 1939, just three weeks shy of his 94th birthday. For the final six years of his life Wilson lived with his son’s family at 3548 Warder Street. Though more research is needed, it appears that he lived at 635 Morton Street prior to his move to Warder.

Maj. Wilson was a veteran soldier of the Confederacy. He was 16 when the war broke out but did not enlist until the tide turned against the South at Gettysburg. In the spring of 1864 he ran away from his home at Bladensburg, Md., crossed the river and made his way behind the Confederate lines.

Wilson joined the First Maryland Cavalry and saw action almost daily through the year. He remained with the company and was present in 1865 during the nine-day retreat from Richmond to Appomattox.

The pictures seen here are from the May 30, 1938, Memorial Day exercises. Seventy-three years ago today, Maj. Wilson and three other Civil War veterans began their morning with a flight over Arlington National Cemetery. During the flight they dropped a bouquet of rose petals and evergreen sprigs above the cemetery and were interviewed in the air for a Nation-wide radio broadcast in which the veterans spoke of their war experiences.

The soldiers included Maj. Wilson and Sergt. Peter Pierre Smith, both veterans for the Confederacy, and Union soldiers Col. H. C. Rizer and William H. Jackson. After the morning flight Smith and Rizer, both 94 years old, felt tire and were taken home. Wilson and Jackson, however, were good for another flight. Along with a battery of cameramen, Wilson and Jackson re-boarded the plane and took off with plans to circle Gettysburg but only made it as far as Frederick, Md.

robert-wilson-two.jpg

Left to right: William H. Jackson; C. Bedell Monroe, president of Pennsylvania Central Airlines; Maj. Robert W. Wilson
 
As Paul Harvey said "And Now We Know The Rest Of The Story"
Remembering One of Park View’s Former Veterans — Maj. Robert W. Wison (1845-1939)

May 30, 2011
robert-wilson-one.jpg

Civil War veterans William H. Jackson (far left) and Maj. Robert W. Wilson (second from left) with veterans Sergt. Peter Pierre Smith and Col. H. C. Rizer: May 30, 1938

Not surprisingly with the neighborhood bordering the Soldiers’ Home, Park View has been the home of many veterans over the years. Among them was Civil War veteran Robert W. Wilson. Wilson died on February 27, 1939, just three weeks shy of his 94th birthday. For the final six years of his life Wilson lived with his son’s family at 3548 Warder Street. Though more research is needed, it appears that he lived at 635 Morton Street prior to his move to Warder.

Maj. Wilson was a veteran soldier of the Confederacy. He was 16 when the war broke out but did not enlist until the tide turned against the South at Gettysburg. In the spring of 1864 he ran away from his home at Bladensburg, Md., crossed the river and made his way behind the Confederate lines.

Wilson joined the First Maryland Cavalry and saw action almost daily through the year. He remained with the company and was present in 1865 during the nine-day retreat from Richmond to Appomattox.

The pictures seen here are from the May 30, 1938, Memorial Day exercises. Seventy-three years ago today, Maj. Wilson and three other Civil War veterans began their morning with a flight over Arlington National Cemetery. During the flight they dropped a bouquet of rose petals and evergreen sprigs above the cemetery and were interviewed in the air for a Nation-wide radio broadcast in which the veterans spoke of their war experiences.

The soldiers included Maj. Wilson and Sergt. Peter Pierre Smith, both veterans for the Confederacy, and Union soldiers Col. H. C. Rizer and William H. Jackson. After the morning flight Smith and Rizer, both 94 years old, felt tire and were taken home. Wilson and Jackson, however, were good for another flight. Along with a battery of cameramen, Wilson and Jackson re-boarded the plane and took off with plans to circle Gettysburg but only made it as far as Frederick, Md.

robert-wilson-two.jpg

Left to right: William H. Jackson; C. Bedell Monroe, president of Pennsylvania Central Airlines; Maj. Robert W. Wilson
Great find! Thanks for posting.
 
I guess the photos don't paste so here are other photos of that day
Civil War veterans William H. Jackson (far left) and Maj. Robert W. Wilson (second from left) with veterans Sergt. Peter Pierre Smith and Col. H. C. Rizer: May 30, 1938
robert-wilson-one.jpg
robert-wilson-two.jpg
 
Thanks for posting! What an interesting story. I think our "Faraway Friend" has best expressed the idea of how much the world changed over the course of these mens' lifetimes, and it's wonderful how they seemed to adapt.

Now, this question has probably been asked before, so I beg pardon for not searching deeply. Are there any members out there of CWT who attended these reunions? My mother went to the 1939 World's Fair and remembers it vividly. As does my 97 year old aunt.

Anyone out there who went to Gettysburg in 1938? Please chime in! Would love to hear about it!
 
Good Luck with that one.
 
View attachment 105103

Heroes of battle of Gettysburg paid tribute by surviving brothers-in-arms. Washington, D.C., May 30, Although there are only a few of the boys in blue and gray left, two of them were strong enough today, Memorial Day, to drop flowers from the air on the Gettysburg battlefield to honor their comrades who lost their lives in this historic battle of the Civil War. Here we see, left to right: William H. Jackson, 95, of Washington, D.C., 5/30/38.
https://www.loc.gov/item/hec2009011380/
All I can say is amazing and thank you!
 
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