2021 is the 100th Anniversary of the creation of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, in Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA. On its schedule of Commemorative events, Carroll Jo Daviess Chapter 5015-IL of the National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR) paid tribute to the monument, which holds an unidentified man who perished in World War II. Members met on Saturday, November 13, at the Heritage Center, 106 S. Broad Street, in Lanark, IL, at 1:00 p.m.
Presenter Frank Norem offered a compelling book review of Tomb of the Unknown Soldier: A Century of Honor, by Philip Bigler. His talk described in detail how one, anonymous, service member of WW II was disintered from an American Cemetery in Normandy, France. After his return to rest in Arlington, that unknown man became the symbol of thousands of unidentified men who died on the battlefields. Norem became visible moved as he retold Bigler’s account and discussed his own Normandy photos.
He recommended more books on this fascinating topic. On Hallowed Ground: The Story of Arlington National Cemetery is by Robert M. Poole. The Unknowns: The Untold Story of America’s Unknown Soldier and WW II’s Most Decorated Heroes Who Brought Him Home was authored by Patrick K. O’Donnell.
Carroll Jo Daviess Chapter is an active, growing Chapter. Meetings are held at five towns across, two Counties, during the year: Freeport, Lanark, Mt. Carroll, Stockton, and Thomson. Interested women also traveled to DAR Days in Bloomington; Work Day at the Illinois Veterans Home in LaSalle; NSDAR Day of Service in Savanna (Carroll County Help Center Thrift Store) or Schapville (Schapville Sonshine Center); the District II Fall Meeting in Mendota. Some will travel farther next year. The State Conference (Bloomington) is in April 2022, and the Continental Congress meets in Washington, D. C. on Sunday, July 3.
Contact Honorary Chapter Regent Connie Foster (holding the cake) to learn more about Carroll Jo Daviess Chapter of the National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution, at 815-441-1211. The Editor is standing to her right.