Remembering Yankee Blue – Yakima To Honor Sons Of Union Army Vets
If not for the bravery and sacrifice of the Union Army during the Civil War, America as we know it would not exist today.
E-History says 364,511 Union Soldiers were killed, another 281,881 Union soldiers were wounded between April 1861 to April 1865 in the war to save the nation.
The High Price Of Victory
In fact, the Union Army suffered nearly 200,000 more injuries and deaths than did the Confederacy. Overall, the Civil War soldier's chances of not surviving the war were about one in four.
That level of sacrifice needs to be honored and remembered and it is, by an organization called Sons Of Union Veterans Of The Civil War.
Civil War History Family Tree
Right after the war, Union veterans organized a group called the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) that worked on behalf of vets on social and political issues. Then in 1881, the GAR formed the Sons Of Veterans organization to carry on the traditions and memories of the GAR, which in 1954 officially became Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War. (SUVCW)
The Eastern Washington group of the SUVCW called Fort Walla Walla Camp 3, is holding a Civil War Veterans Remembrance Ceremony from 11 am to noon on Monday, Memorial day at Tahoma Cemetery in Yakima.
A Local Remembrance Ceremony
The location will be at the 20-foot-tall Grand Army of the Republic, Mead Post No. 9 monument near the west entrance to the cemetery.
A couple of the local "Sons" were on the radio this morning to talk about how to track your genealogy to see if you are related to a Union Army veteran. They also shared more on the mission of the group in terms of patriotism, citizenship, preservation, education, and honoring the heroes of the past.
Local Sons Share Their Passion For History
Local camp commander Don Jamson and former KIT broadcaster Brian Teegarden invite you to join them at Tahoma on Memorial Day and maybe even join their group if someone up your family tree was a Union soldier veteran.