Military

WORMACK SERVICES

A service for Airman First Class Jerry Wayne Wormack, 21, who died March 17 in a hospital in Italy of injuries he received in an auto accident on March 14, will be conducted Friday at 2 p. m. at the Hafer Funeral Home. Rev. William Claybon will officiate and interment will be in Woodlawn Cemetery.

An Air Force burial squad from Washington will accord military honors at graveside.

Hagerstown observes 150th anniversary of Civil War with ceremonial observance

September 21, 2013

Hagerstown observed the 150th anniversary of the Civil War on Saturday with a ceremonial observance, including marker unveilings and an address by Maryland Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown at Rose Hill Cemetery.

The City of Hagerstown, Hagerstown-Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau and Rose Hill Cemetery sponsored the event, which kicked off Friday night at City Hall with a lecture by Daniel Toomey titled “Old Men in Blue and Gray.”

Ground broken for memorial to honor African-American Civil War veterans

Rectifying what one organizer called a “historical oversight,” a groundbreaking ceremony for a memorial to honor African-American veterans of Lyon Post No. 31 of the Grand Army of the Republic was held Tuesday at Hagerstown’s Rose Hill Cemetery.

The Grand Army of the Republic was a veterans organization for those who battled for the Union during the Civil War.

Vietnam Veterans

Many local African-Americans served during the Vietnam War. Four of these men are among the local Vietnam Veterans of America Honor Guard.

John “Perkey” Yates leads Cumberland Chapter #172 of the Vietnam Veterans of America Honor Guard during the opening ceremonies of the National Day of Prayer on the Downtown Cumberland Mall, May 4, 2017. Second in line is Robert Peck and fourth in line is James “Song” Meade. Holding the blue flag in the second photograph is Jimmy Washington.
 

Women have played an increasingly important role in the armed forces. In March 2005, about 350,000 women were serving in the U.S. military, almost 15% of active duty personnel, one in seven soldiers. (From: NPR Radio, Wounded in War: The Women Serving in Iraq, March 14, 2005).

Fulton Myers Post 153 Razed
The Fulton Myers American Legion Post #153 was razed in October 2011. The building was damaged in a March 2010 fire, the cause of which was determined to be arson after fire investigators found combustibles inside the building.

This photograph depicts the Fulton Myers Post 153 American Legion located on North Mechanic Street in Cumberland. It was named for Fulton J. Myers (1890-1918), a young black soldier serving in the 351st Field Artillery who died at Camp Meade (later known as Fort George Meade) in Maryland.

The following is an excerpt from Cumberland, Maryland Through The Eyes of Herman J. Miller

This photograph from about 1962 depicts a food donation to the Salvation Army from Fulton Myers Post #153. Depicted from left to right are John "June" Stephens, George Ashby, Major Ben Jones of the Salvation Army official, and William Jones.

The Post (on Mechanic Street, Cumberland) was named in honor of Private Fulton J. Myers who died in 1918 at Camp Meade. The Fulton Myers Post #153 of the American Legion was closed during the summer of 2008. The Post was damaged by a fire in 2010 and razed in 2011.

Robert "Bob" Peck

Robert "Bob" Peck served in the United States Navy from 1958 to 1967 and saw service aboard ship throughout Southeast Asia and Europe. He recalls, "There was unity on our ship. I can only speak for our ship. We had people of all races and all backgrounds. We only had one guy ever tell me that I couldn't give him an order. And that didn't take too long. It lasted about two days. At the end of the two days, he would say, 'Yes sir, chief'".

John Jesse "Perkey" Yates is a 1967 graduate of Allegany High School. A photograph of John on the Allegany basketball team appears elsewhere on this website. John served in the U.S. Army, 4th Division, 2nd. Battalion, 35th. Infantry, Company D in Vietnam from June 1969 to June 1970.