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Memorial Day and Westmoreland County
Posted 5-20-2002
As we head into Memorial Day
weekend, it is worthwhile to reflect on how residents of Westmoreland County
have played important roles in shaping our nation's history. It is natural
for us to remember family members who fought in wars during the twentieth
century. But, people residing on this soil fought bravely in every war in
our nation's history. They fought even in the days prior to independence.
The War for Empire, commonly
known as the French and Indian War and the subsequent battles of Pontiac's
War involved residents of the yet-to-be formed Westmoreland County. In fact
key battles like the battle of Bushy Run, that played a critical role in
determining British rather than French control of this region, were fought
on our soil.
Men like Samuel Craig Sr. and
his three sons represented our county in battles during the American
Revolution. We have been represented in every one of our nation's wars
including the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Civil War, and the
Spanish-American War. Westmoreland County residents have shed their blood
for our nation and sadly now, many of them are now forgotten. Their families
may have died off or moved away, yet battle units were formed from residents
of this county in every major war.
This Memorial Day weekend,
while we are at picnics or parties, or even at services remembering people
who defended our nation in modern times, I hope we all take a few moments to
remember those Westmoreland County residents from earlier centuries that
have no one left to remember them. They made sacrifices to leave families
behind, with no modern communications to get word back home concerning their
safety and no modern medicine to protect them if they were wounded. Those
that had their own businesses left their families' economic survival in the
hands of their wives and children and went off to fight.
Today with war brought into
our living rooms via television and battle updates almost instantaneously,
we have a hard time fathoming what uncertainty must have lingered for family
members remaining back in Westmoreland County. Months could have gone by
without knowing the fate of loved ones. The hardships endured by not only
those who fought, but also their families, should not be forgotten.
Warfare has never been kind
and the ability for mass destruction has increased with technological
advancements. But, the warfare of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries
was brutal in its own ways. With limited medical capabilities, battlefront
wounds could often be fatal; many Westmoreland County men never made it
home. Whether they were fighting the British for our independence, fighting
to preserve our union, or fighting for the many other causes that have led
our county's finest off to war, we owe it to them to take a moment and
reflect.
We should think for a moment
how good we really have it. We have a beautiful, safe county that's history,
from it's beginning, is interwoven with our nation's history. People from
Westmoreland County have always been participants in our nation's time of
need. They sacrificed tremendously, so that we could live in a county the
quality of modern-day Westmoreland. If we better appreciate our past, and
remember those who made it possible for us to be here now, it will give us a
greater sense of who we are and how important it is to build a strong
Westmoreland County for future |
