"Battlefield Cross" Historical

"Battlefield Cross" Historical (HM1W1O)

Location: Brookville, OH 45309 Montgomery County
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Country: United States of America
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N 39° 50.731', W 84° 25.467'

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Inscription
On the battlefield, a rifle placed by a comrade pointing downwards into the ground was a memorial to a soldier killed in action. Often their helmet was placed on top. It marked the place where they fell and helped in the recovery of their body for burial. This practice dates back to the American Civil War. The purpose was to show Honor and Respect for the fallen at the battle site.
Later in the field or base camp the fallen soldier's rifle, helmet, boots, and sometimes dog tags are arranged to form the Battlefield Cross. The helmet and dog tags represent the fallen. The inverted rifle with bayonet signals a time for prayer, a break in the action to pay tribute to a comrade. The boots represent the final march into battle.
A ceremony is held to Honor their Service and Sacrifice. This allows their comrades time to pay their respects and begin to process the loss. The ceremony ends with the playing of "Taps" on the bugle.

Go to sleep, peaceful sleep
May the soldier or sailor,
God keep.
On the land or the deep.
Safe in sleep.

Such a ceremony was held in South Vietnam for Sgt Tom Herkins in 1968 and Sgt Joe Heltsley in 1969.

"Above all Vietnam was a war that asked everything of a few and nothing of most of America."

Myra MacPherson
Details
HM NumberHM1W1O
Tags
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Thursday, December 1st, 2016 at 9:02pm PST -08:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)31N E 166021 N 0
Decimal Degrees39.84551667, -84.42445000
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 39° 50.731', W 84° 25.467'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds39° 50' 43.86" N, 84° 25' 28.02" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)937
Which side of the road?Marker is on the right when traveling North
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 11248-11398 E Upper Lewisburg Salem Rd, Brookville OH 45309, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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