Well, I looked it up and in an article at a site called Chestnut Hill, a plaque was cited that did indeed proclaim that thousands of sick and wounded Revolutionary War soldiers were buried under the park, not yellow fever victims! During the years when I worked at W. B. Saunders, I must have seen the plaque.
Today at the gym, although I was listening to music on my iPod shuffle, the tv directly in front of me was showing black and white footage from World War II. I didn't unplug and tune in because the music helps me keep moving but I saw sailors boarding ships, many of whom looked like my dad. My father was on troop transport ships both in the North Atlantic and the Pacific. The year he died, I had bought him a book about the Battle of Tassaferonga, which he witnessed. Needless to say, it brought tears to my eyes to see those young men, many of whom would never be coming home to get married and make families like my father was fortunate enough to do. He lived to be 89.
At the end of the footage, or actually, at the end of my bicycling time, they showed an elder vet looking at the USS NEW JERSEY in Camden. It reminded me of my many visits there, including one with my father before he passed away in 2011.
My father had also been in the Merchant Marines, and before that the Civilian Conservation Corps. He worked on the Skyline Drive and we spent many happy family vacations there when I was growing up. His experiences helped to inspire in me an interest in history as well as an appreciation for the service and sacrifice of our citizens in uniform.
Happy Trails!
Jo Ann
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