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LAKE - SUMTER CHAPTER

of the

The Lake-Sumter Gazette Editor: Bob Beightol August 2017

Table of Contents

Diane P. Hardwich 1945 - 2017

2 Future Presenter Schedule

8 - 9

Bill Piper 1924 - 2017

3 Update – Past Articles

10 - 11

Officer/ Committee Chairpersons

4 Next Meeting 11

Article - Retirement Nylon Flags

4 - 7 This and That 11 - 13

Article – Lake County MOH

7 - 8 Gazette Info 13

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The Chapter recently lost two friends. The first, on June 16th, a past member, Compatriot Bill Piper; the second on July 21st, the wife of our Chapter President and frequent guest at our meetings, Mrs Diane Pearce Hardwich. Please join us in offering our condolences to both families in their time of loss. Extracts from their obituaries are provided below.

Diane Pearce Hardwich

(1945 - 2017)

Diane Pearce Hardwich was born on February 21, 1945, in Chambersburg, Pa. She passed away on July 21, 2017, in Tavares, FL. She received her B. S. in Education from the University of Maryland, and her Masters from Nova University. Prior to retiring, she taught middle school mathematics, and became a mathematics editor and writer for Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. Diane enjoyed reading, traveling, antiquing, and many of the home arts including making jewelry and sewing. She was a member of the Ocklawaha

Chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution. She is survived by her husband of 50 years, Gerald C. Hardwich, of Tavares, FL; a daughter, Elizabeth Ann Hardwich Herring, and grandson Jackson Pearce Herring of Newnan, GA; a son, James Matthew Hardwich, daughter in law, Cynthia Hardwich, and granddaughter Makayla Diane Hardwich of Harlingen, TX; and a sister, Merry Lynn Pearce, and a niece Samantha Noel Vansickle of Alpharetta, GA. Services were held at the Lakeview Cemetery Chapel, Monday, July 31 at 11:00 AM, followed by internment at Lakeview Cemetery, Skaneateles, NY. Flowers, and condolences may be sent to Butler-Batman Funeral Home, 4504 West Seneca Turnpike, Syracuse, NY.

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William Baxter (Bill) Piper

(1924 – 2017)

William Baxter (Bill) Piper, 92, of Greensboro, NC, died June 16, 2017 in Whittier Center at Friends Homes Guilford (FHG), following complications from Parkinson's disease. Bill was born in Pottsdam, New York in 1924. Upon graduating with a degree in mechanical engineering from Clarkson University, he then served two years in New York State Maritime Academy as second lieutenant in the Merchant Marines. After discharge from the US Navy, he married his first wife, Mary Lou (later deceased). Employed by Western Electric, the couple resided in Greensboro, rearing three adopted children, Tim (now deceased), Jill and Andy. At that time, they were members of the Moravian church. From 1968 to 1970, Bill worked on a special MIM-14 Nike Hercules missile project in Japan. After 34 years, he retired, and in 1986, met and married his present wife, Jan. They lived in Greensboro until 2001, then moved to the Villages, Florida, to spend eleven happy years golfing (six holes-in-one after he turned 80), playing bridge, and making many friends. While there, Bill became very involved with the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR). Due to health issues, they returned to Greensboro in 2013 to "FHG." Some of Bill's life interests included coin and stamp collecting, genealogy, and, especially, history, where he volunteered as a docent at Nathanael Greene Military Park for several seasons. In his later years, he became very active in the Reformed Presbyterian faith, both in Greensboro and Florida. Over all, Bill loved people, loved joking and bringing laughter to so many friends. Surviving are his faithful wife Jan, sister Marzie of California, daughter Jill (Tom) of Wilmington, daughter-in-law Bee of Greensboro, grandchildren Rowe (Alysha) and Emily (Justin), four great-grandchildren, two stepsons and several nephews and nieces. Much love and thankfulness go to the faithful Whittier nursing staff of "FHG," long-suffering caregivers. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Hospice of Greensboro, or Greensboro Crisis Pregnancy Center.

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Safe and Respectful Retirement of Nylon Flags by Ralph Nelson, Minuteman in the National Society

of the Sons of the American Revolution Based on his article in The Florida Patriot, Vol. 43, No.1 (Spring 2013), pp 5-6

The Historical Method: The U.S. Flag Code, established through U.S. Federal Code Title 4, Chapter 1, Section 8(k), says, “The flag, when it is in such condition that

it is no longer a fitting emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning.” The American Legion approved its Ceremony for Disposal

Chapter Officers President: Gerald C Hardwich 1st VP: Allan Lane 2nd VP: George W Chaffee Secretary: Edward J Riley Treasurer: Ronald L Grove Historian: Richard K Offutt Registrar: John H Moore Sergeant at Arms: Basil Linville, Jr Member at Large: Robert L Beightol Member at Large: Basil Linville Genealogist: Tom Wilcox

Committee Chairs Public Service: Allan Lane Flag: Glen Langston Good citizen: Ralph Nelson Veteran Recognition: Jim Carl SAR Service: Ralph Nelson SAR Tenure: Ed Riley Audit: Allan Lane Awards: Allan Lane Color Guard: Glenn Langston Americanism Poster: Ron Grove DAR Liaison: Robert Moody Education: Ron Grove Eagle Scouts: Bill Hayes JROTC: Bill Hayes Oration: Ron Grove Meeting Donations: B.J. Linville Membership: John Moore Editor: Bob Beightol Nominating: Ralph Nelson Program: Allan Lane Publicity: Bob Beightol Quartermaster: Basil Linville, Jr Veteran’s Programs: George Chaffee Website Manager: Scott Bushnell

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of Unserviceable Flags in 1937. At that time, most American flags were made of cotton or wool, which burn cleanly.

Today the vast majority of American flags are made of nylon or other petroleum-based materials. The American Legion sells polyester and nylon flags, but their website says nothing about the hazards of burning such flags or how to retire them in any way other than burning. The Flag Code notes burning as a preferred method but does not rule out other methods of retirement.

Trouble with New Fabrics: In 2003 I attended a flag retirement ceremony at the Delaware Memorial Veterans Cemetery, where several Boy Scout Troops and Cub Scout Packs had collected hundreds of flags for a retirement ceremony. The advisor for this Eagle Scout project was a member of the local fire department and knew that nylon and polyester flags could pose serious problems.

Burning nylon releases ammonia and cyanides into the air. Polyester melts easily and can cause severe burns if the melt drips on skin. Under low-oxygen combustion conditions polyester produces large quantities of carcinogenic polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH).

To address these air pollution and personal injury concerns the Scouts set aside the nylon and polyester flags for separate processing by the DuPont Company -- a major producer of nylon in 2003. These flags were burned in a special incinerator

designed to remove the toxic combustion products from the tailgas. As a chemist and chemical engineer, I was glad to see that these hazards were managed in a legal, safe, and practical manner.

I suspected that many of the civic groups that hold flag retirement ceremonies annually did not know about the hazards of burning nylon and polyester. And I suspected that those that did know did not

have access to incinerators designed for burning nylon and polyester.

The Separate and Bury Method: After some searching I found a better method for retiring unfit U.S. flags. It is safe, proper, legal, and practical. In this method the flag is separated into pieces that do not contain both stars and stripes. The separated pieces are not flags.

The manner of separation (cutting or ripping) is not specified in the code, nor are the number and shape of pieces specified. Cutting is the most practical method when dealing with large numbers of flags. The first cut separates the six long stripes; the second cut separates the seven short stripes from the field of stars. Collect separated fields in one box, stripes in another.

Out of respect for their former existence in a flag you should dispose of the fields separately from the stripes. For a few flags burial may be a good option. For larger numbers put the boxes (stars and stripes on different days) out for trash collection.

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Collected trash is either buried or burned in incinerators that scrub out the toxic gases. Chemical recycling is feasible only if you have ton quantities of flags.

Ceremony and Procedure: If you wish to burn the cotton flags you should separate these out as the flags are collected. As the flags are being collected they should be folded and placed in boxes. Select one flag that is somewhat faded, but not torn, as the representative flag.

A public retirement ceremony may be held featuring the representative flag, with the

boxes of other flags nearby. The separation process may be described and demonstrated or not, as suits the organization and the occasion. After the ceremony, a retirement team can separate each flag into three pieces and place the pieces in separate containers or opaque bags of fields and stripes.

The Future: Organizations that retire flags are: American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Marine Corp League, Fire Department, Boy Scout Troop, Girl Scout Troop. Share this article with them so that they may move to this safe and proper procedure for large numbers of flags.

References:

Material Safety Data Sheet for nylon: skipper.physics.sunysb.edu/HBD/MSDS/NylonMSDS.pdf

Combustion of Wastes: J.A Conesa, et al.,J. Anal. Appl. Pyrol. (2008) 11:22

American Legion flag retirement ceremony: http://www.legion.org/flag/ceremony

Boy Scout leader advice: blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2010/11/19/flag-retirement/

Common questions and answers about flag use: www.ushistory.org/betsy/faq.htm

Recycling organization: www.americanflagdisposal.com

A Sample Ceremony: A simple ceremony can strengthen the participants' appreciation for our nation's focus on individual liberty and the need to respect rather than suppress the opinions of our neighbors, who may at times disagree with us. The following ceremony involves a color guard and a three-person cutting team -- two to hold the flag's four corners and one (titled the Swordsman) to make the cuts. The representative retirement flag would be posted to the left of a fresh U.S. flag. The boxes of collected flags would be at one side of the stage. They should be separated by a cutting team privately after the ceremony. [After an opening ceremony and remarks by leaders of the civic groups that collected the flags the Master of Ceremonies would narrate this script:] We are gathered here to pay our last respects to many flags that have served long and well and are now ready to be retired. Let us honor them and renew our commitment to our nation's founding principles by repeating the Pledge of Allegiance. ............

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Color guard, lower the flag! [Disconnect the representative flag from the pole and cut the grommet strip off.] We retire the flag by cutting it to separate the stripes from the field of stars. These pieces, no longer a flag, will be disposed of separately. Swordsman, make the first cut! [Cut the six long stripes off.] This cut should remind us of the difficulty we have in deciding as a group to make the sacrifices required to achieve and to maintain liberty. Swordsman, make the second cut! [Cut the seven short stripes off] This cut should remind us that while many support and benefit from the battles to achieve and to maintain liberty, a few will bear the greatest loss. They should be honored as long as there are stars in the sky. Color guard, cover the pieces! [Place field and stripes in separate opaque envelopes] These pieces, no longer a flag, will now be sent to a final rest. May the patriotic spirit freed from the flags we retire today be passed on to the flags that have replaced them, and may we pass the spirit of respectful liberty on to our neighbors. [Continue with the closing ceremony.]

Local History: Lake County Medal of Honor Winner

by Robert L. Beightol

Editor’s Note: The topic of this article pertains to the Civil War which is a little out of our normal area of interest, but it is history and local history to boot, so I thought the members might find it of interest. Some time ago, at the request of my DAR wife, I assisted in placing US flags on about 40 graves in the Greenwood Cemetery, Eustis, FL. The graves belonged to members of the Ocklawaha DAR Chapter who had passed away since the Chapter’s inception over 100 years ago. In the process, I stumbled upon a grave site marked with a small

“Albert D Wright Medal of Honor Cpt, Co G, 43 US

Cld Trps Civil War Dec 10 1842 – Feb 15 1926.”

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flag identifying the occupant as a Medal of Honor recipient. A little research determined Albert D Wright, Commander, Co G, 43rd US Colored Troops, was awarded the Medal of Honor on May 1, 1893, for gallantry during the Battle of the Crater, on July 30, 1864 in Petersburg, VA. In that battle, during the siege of Petersburg, Union forces dug a tunnel from Union lines to a point within the Confederate Defenses. Dynamite was detonated creating a huge crater, and as union troops raced into the crater, in conflict with the original plan, they were trapped unable to move up the steep sides of the crater and were easy targets for Confederate rifle and artillery fire.

CPT Wright, with six of his soldiers, skirted the rim of the crater, capturing the Confederate battle flag and five prisoners. During the action, CPT Wright was severely wounded and lost his left arm; however, survived with his right arm intact, living in Lake County until his death in 1926. Despite the actions of CPT Wright and his men, the battle was a victory for the Confederacy and the siege of Petersburg continued for another eight months. For more information about Medal of Honor winner, Albert D Wright, including a timeline detailing his life, his personal letter describing the Battle of the Crater and a photograph of the medal, visit the display at the Lake County Museum, 314 Main St, Tavares, FL.

Scheduled Presentations

First Vice-President Allan Lane reported that presentation for the remainder of 2017 and the first half of 2018 have been identified and are listed below.

2017

Oct 7: Retired CIA official Donald Wyman will give a presentation concerning the CIA Museum. Mr. Wyman is a member of the Villages SAR Chapter.

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Nov 11: Lt. General Jay Garner, US Army (Retired), will present a summary of threats and military challenges the United States faces around the world. Dec 2: Holocaust survivor Gene Klein will give a talk on his family’s horrific experiences at Auschwitz and slave labor camps in Poland and Germany. Mr. Klein decided late in life to tell the story of his family’s resilience in the face of terror.

2018

Jan 6: Chapter member Allan Lane will give a presentation concerning the fascinating end of the Civil War in his native State of North Carolina, and how negotiations were almost derailed by the assassination of President Lincoln. The presentation is titled Sherman’s Last Campaign—The Astounding end of the Civil War, Durham Station, NC, April 26, 1865. Feb 10: Doug Hughes will speak on the American Revolution from the British point of view. Mar 3: Roger Smith received a Ph.D. from the University of Florida and currently works as an independent researcher and author. His presentation will be on Florida during the Revolution and is titled Florida, the Fourteenth Colony. Dr. Smith is a member of the St. Augustine Chapter of the SAR. April 7: David Head, Ph.D. currently is a lecturer at the University of Central Florida and has authored many published books and articles on American history. His presentation will be on early aspects of Florida’s history. May 5: James Brown, a member of the The Villages Chapter of the SAR will give a presentation titled The USS Slater DE766 and the Destroyer Escort Historical Museum. June 2: Harry Kemler is a local artist and life-long student of George Washington. Mr. Kemler, a native of New Jersey, will give an artistic presentation concerning George Washington’s war time activities in New Jersey, emphasizing Gen. Washington’s integrity and perseverance.

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Recruitment of New Members

Just a reminder from Chapter Registrar John Moore, Information concerning prospective members can be sent to Compatriot Moore via email at jmoore417@gmail.com or via phone at 734-646-0902.

Update – Past Articles Battle of Brooklyn:

On June 3, 2017, Compatriot Tom Wilcox provided us with a fascinating presentation on The Battle of Brooklyn, The Lost Battle that Won the War. During that battle, the Americans sustained heavy losses which included members of the 1st Maryland Regiment who repeatedly charged a numerically superior British force during the battle. Members of the 1st Maryland Regiment who were lost became known as The Maryland 400, all of whom were believed to have been buried in a mass grave, the location of which has never been known. Their actions contributed to General Washington’s successful evacuation of the bulk of his troops to Manhattan. This

action is commemorated in Maryland's nickname, the "Old Line State." A monument in Brooklyn and multiple plaques were put up in the memory of this regiment and the fallen soldiers. Despite their heroics, the burial site of The Maryland 400 has not been found, until, possibly, now.

As a follow-up to his presentation, Compatriot Wilcox provided the following link to a recent article which reports that the burial site of the “Maryland 400” may have been located: http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-maryland-soldiers-20170716-story.html .

Chapter History 2004:

Information received from Compatriot Ralph D. Nelson, Jr, disclosed that when he transferred to the Lake-Sumter SAR Chapter, the Chapter was meeting in a small

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restaurant in downtown Leesburg. Following a fire, which left an annoying smoky smell, the Chapter moved to its present meeting place, the American Legion Post, Fruitland Park, FL.

Colorguard Photos:

Compatriot Nelson confirmed that it was him in uniform depicted on Page 16 of the June 2017 edition of the Colorguardsman newsletter. Follow the link listed to see for yourself: https://sar.org/sar-colorguardsman .

Next Meeting

The next meeting of the Lake-Sumter SAR Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution, will be:

Date: October 7, 2017 Time: 11:00 AM - General Membership Meeting 10:00 AM - Executive Committee Meeting. Members are encouraged to

attend. Place: John Gela Memorial American Legion Post 219, 194 West Fountain Street, Fruitland Park, FL Speaker: Retired CIA, Compatriot Donald Wyman, from the Villages Chapter. Topic: The CIA Museum. Lunch: The Post will be serving their BBQ sandwiches or plates with pork & chicken, baked beans, slaw, and a roll. Coffee $1 with free refills and deserts for $1.00. Canned soda is available in the meeting room.

This and That Chapter Web Site: http:/ /lakesumtersar.org

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Snow Bird News: Compatriot Charles White, Rochester, NY, reported that he has undergone cataract surgery on one eye, which went well, and will have undergone surgery on the second eye before this newsletter is published. Otherwise, all goes well and he hopes to see everyone in the fall.

Photographs and Biographies: To those members who have encountered difficulties in adding photos and/ or biographies to the Chapter web site the following information is provided. Webmaster Scott Bushnell, advised that member portraits cannot be added by the member and should be sent to him via email at sbushnell@usna64.org and he would add the photo to the member page. The biography can be typed directly onto the member page or cut and pasted from a Word document by the member. Volunteers: Volunteers are almost always needed on a variety of committees and the Chapter Color Guard. Should you have time spare time or simply have questions as to how you could help, please contact any of the Chapter officers. Remember, as few as a couple of hours here and there could make or break one of our Chapter programs. US Code – Disposal of Worn Flags: United States Code (USC), Title 36, Chapter 10 (Patriotic Customs), Section 176 (Respect for Flag) deals with all things concerning the symbol of our country, the Flag. Paragraph (k) required only that the Flag “be disposed of in a dignified manner, preferably by burning.”. For additional details, use the following URL which will take you to that portion of the USC which deals with flags. http://www.usflag.org/uscode36.html#176 Personal Information Update: Updating member information such as address, e-mail, or phone number is the responsibility of the member. If you are registered on the state/ chapter website (which uses the same data base) and/ or the National website (a different data base) you can update your own information. If you aren’t registered on either, or need help completing the update, contact or send the information to our Chapter Secretary Edward Riley, at apej2313@yahoo.com. He can then update the appropriate data base. Recruitment: Our individual primary effort should be in the direction of new member recruitment. Remember, male children, siblings and grandchildren are all eligible for the SAR. Should you have candidates, please connect with Registrar John Moore at jmoore417@gmail.com or via phone at 734-646-0902. Participation Points: Compatriots, remember the importance of tracking your points. Eligible events with point values can be found under the Admin section of the Lake Sumter SAR Chapter website.

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Military Service Awards: If you served in the military but have not received a Military Service Award, please notify the Chairman, Veteran Recognition Committee, Jim Carl at besttwin2008@hotmail.com . Revolutionary War Era Maps: Compatriot Tom Wilcox, provided the following link to a Library of Congress web site which provides digital images of maps produced during the period of the American Revolution. Thank you, Compatriot Wilcox! About this Collection - American Revolution and Its Era: Maps and Charts of North America and the West Indies, 1750-1789

Lake-Sumter Gazette Contact Information Robert L Beightol

Email: bogi0104@bellsouth.net Phone: 850-206-7344

Compatriots, please submit all news items and photos you believe of interest to the membership, via email, with a name and telephone number for a point of contact. Remember, if you think it is interesting, chances are your fellow

members will too!