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Homewood Cemetery revives ceremonies

Sunday, May 25, 2003

By Michael A. Fuoco, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

The war in Iraq and the attendant loss of life should heighten the poignancy of this year's events in honor of Memorial Day.

In fact, the country's recent military involvement is the reason the Homewood Cemetery will hold a Memorial Day weekend service today for the first time in more than 20 years.

"There was a wonderful turnout in the past, but it had gotten to the point where it was a picnic more than anything else," said cemetery spokeswoman Nicole Mancini. "We were discussing Memorial Day, and thought this would be a good year to [revive the ceremony], given everything that's going on."

The service will begin at 2 p.m. in the new Garden of Honor section. William Schofield III, the Allegheny County Veterans Affairs director, and author Caroline McKinney, niece of World War II Medal of Honor recipient Alfred L. Wilson, will be the speakers. The service will be moved to the cemetery chapel if it rains.

Among the veterans buried in the storied cemetery are hundreds who served in the Civil War, including two Medal of Honor recipients, James M. Schoonmaker and John C. Matthews. Both are buried in the Grand Army of the Republic section.

Pittsburgh native Schoonmaker, a colonel with the 14th Pennsylvania Cavalry, was awarded his medal for a battle at Winchester, Va., on Sept. 19, 1864. According to his citation, "at a critical period, [he] gallantly led a cavalry charge against the left of the enemy's line of battle, drove the enemy out of his works, and captured many prisoners."

After the war, Schoonmaker was one of the founders of what would become the city of Monessen, where a main thoroughfare bears his name. He was awarded the medal in May 1899 and died in 1927.

Matthews, a Westmoreland County native, was a corporal with Company A, 61st Pennsylvania Infantry. He earned his medal at Petersburg, Va., on April 2, 1865, when, despite being wounded, he voluntarily took the colors and carried them until the enemy was defeated. Awarded the medal in 1891, he died in 1934.

Also today, a memorial ceremony in Butler County will recognize the 402 county veterans who have died since Memorial Day 2002. The ceremony will be held at 7 p.m. in the auditorium of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Butler.

Tomorrow, a brief ceremony will be held at the center at 9 a.m. to honor hospitalized patients, followed by a parade at 10:40 a.m. to North Cemetery at the end of Main Street.

Among the other activities planned for tomorrow is a tribute to Western Pennsylvania military families with relatives in the armed forces. It begins at 3 p.m. inside Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall in Oakland.

The River City Brass Band will play patriotic and service anthems, and Blue Star flags will be distributed to military families in attendance.

Freddie Jackson of Kiski, the mother of Staff Sgt. Stevon Booker, who was killed April 5 in Iraq, will be presented a Gold Star flag, signifying her loss.

The annual St. Mary's & Allegheny Cemetery Association Memorial Day events in Lawrenceville begin at 9:30 a.m. with a parade that will assemble on Liberty Avenue and proceed to St. Mary's Cemetery and then to the Butler Street entrance of Allegheny Cemetery. Participants then will march to the Allegheny Cemetery Soldiers Memorial for a program of prayer, addresses and music.

In Beaver County, the American Legion will sponsor a parade in New Brighton at 10 a.m., followed by speeches.

Rochester, likewise, will have a 10 a.m. parade, sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion, followed by an address by Beaver County Veterans Affairs Director William Muns and the laying of a wreath at the veterans home.

And in Midland, there will be a wreath-laying ceremony at 10 a.m. at the City Building, followed by a parade.

In Washington County, ceremonies will begin at 9:30 a.m. at Monongahela Cemetery.

A parade in Canonsburg, sponsored by the American Legion post in Houston, will begin at 8:30 a.m.

Also sponsoring a parade is the American Legion in Mount Pleasant, Westmoreland County. The parade will begin at 10 a.m. on Main Street and end at the Doughboy Statue at Veterans Park.