Medal of Honor Recipients in Arlington National Cemetery

I wandered onto a page listing all of the Medal of Honor recipients who are buried in Arlington Cemetery.  I selected several names at random just to read about the man behind the name.  The result was several inspiring stories of valor and bravery, of soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen.  One was a captain in the horse cavalry who fought Indians in Arizona.  Another was a marine who served in China during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900.  A soldier earned his medal in 1918, in World War I in France, and a sailor saved lives in Korea in 1951.  Of course, there were some stories from World War II as well.

There was only one name in the Z section, that of Lt. Colonel James Zeamer Jr., of the United States Army Air Corps (the service that predated the Air Force).  Zeamer won the Medal of Honor fighting off Japanese fighters from a bomber near New Guinea in 1943.  One of his crewmen, one Joseph R. Sarnoski, also won the Medal of Honor in the same plane in the same fight.  Sarnoski shot down several Japanese planes, but was mortally wounded in the fight.  Knocked down by an explosive shell, he crawled back to his machine gun and continued firing until death overtook him.  He died at his station.

Sarnoski was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously, was buried in New Guinea, his remains later relocated to the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, in Hawaii.  Read all about this brave American here.

Lt. Colonel Zeamer survived World War II and died in March 2007 at the age of 88, his interment being in Arlington Cemetery.

If you want inspiration by great Americans, do visit this site and read several obituaries at random.  You will meet great men from other times and be inspired.

Songstress Jo Stafford Dies

I have always loved the music of Jo Stafford. Her song "You Belong to Me" was my favorite. Ms. Stafford died last Sunday at the age of 90.

The Los Angeles Times has her story:
Jo Stafford, a singer who was a favorite of GIs during World War II and whose recordings made the pop music charts dozens of times in the 1950s, died Sunday of congestive heart failure at her home in Century City. She was 90.

Jo Stafford had a series of hits in the 1950's and I remember listening to them as a child and loving them all. They included I'll Walk Alone, I'll Be Seeing You and I Don't Want to Walk Without You.

Powerline has the best summary of her accomplishments and a description of why she was so special.

Ms. Stafford leaves behind a legacy of great music. Below is a video of her singing "You Belong to Me," followed by the words.



YOU BELONG TO ME

See the pyramids along the Nile
Watch the sun rise on a tropic isle
Just remember darling all the while
You belong to me

See the market place in old Algiers
Send me photographs and souvenirs
Just remember when a dream appears
You belong to me

I'll be so alone without you
Maybe you'll be lonesome too
And blue

Fly the ocean in a silver plane
See the jungle when it's wet with rain
Just remember till you're home again
You belong to me

I'll be so alone without you
Maybe you'll be lonesome too
And blue

Fly the ocean in a silver plane
See the jungle when it's wet with rain
But remember darling, till you're home again
You belong to me

Rare Photo of Katharine Coman, Colleague of Katharine Lee Bates

When I was researching my July 4th post about the song "America the Beautiful," I became interested in the life and poetry of Katharine Lee Bates (1859 -1929), the author of the great hymn.

Bates graduated from Wellesley College, an all-woman college in Falmouth, Massachusetts, in 1880. Wellesley would have many famous graduates in the years ahead, including Mrs. Chiang Kai-Shek and Hillary Clinton. Bates moved from student to professor, as she taught English literature at Wellesley throughout her working life.

One of Bates' colleagues, a fellow teacher at Wellesley College, was Katharine Coman (1857 - 1915), a distinguished economist who wrote books on history and economics. Wellesley named a professorship in her honor.

Both Katharines were close to the same age, became fast friends and lived together for 25 years, until Coman died of breast cancer in 1915. Neither Bates nor Coman ever married, and it is debated whether or not they were lesbian lovers. Personally, I don't care, as it does not detract one iota from my respect and admiration for either woman. Others, however, contend that they were only "Boston wives," a term given to women and widows who lived together to share household chores and expenses. Many women of the time did this, particularly widows who lost their husbands in World War I.

Both Bates and Coman graduated from college in 1880 -- a rare feat in those days, even for men. By becoming great scholars and career women (at a woman's college yet) they substantially reduced their chances for marriage. In those days men did not want to marry women who were more educated or who made more money than they did. Many if not most men preferred women who would be mothers and homemakers, and in those days where modern conveniences were lacking, it would have been very difficult to be both homemakers and professors. So it is not surprising that the two women lived their lives single, regardless of whether they were heterosexual or not.

Whatever the case, the two women loved each other as family, and this love is obvious in Bates' poetry following Coman's death. Bates nursed Coman for three years after her diagnosis, during a difficult time of decline, and grieved deeply when Coman died. Bates wrote a book of remembrance, of poetry, dedicated to Coman. The book was called "Yellow Clover," after the flower they identified with each other. It was published in 1922.

The poetry is lovely and fresh and original. It speaks to all humans who have grieved over the loss of a loved one, regardless of their orientation.

I found a copy of "Yellow Clover" at the Googles Books website, where they release out-of-copyright books into the public domain, as pdf files. I downloaded the book and discovered that one of the first pages bore a photograph of Katharine Coman. I made a copy of it with screen capture, then enhanced it and cleaned it up with Photoshop. Since photos of Coman appear to be rare if nonexistent on the web, I am releasing it here for anyone who might be interested. Use it as you see fit.

These two great American women led incredibly productive lives and contributed to the education of hundreds of women during their careers. They deserve to be remembered.