From left, Newark Valley, N.Y. historian/author and Vietnam veteran, Jerry Marsh, shakes the hand of Josh Wagoner and thanks him and Andrew Larter of Boy Scout Troop 202 in Endicott, N.Y. for taking on the challenging task of recording information from Civil War veterans graves buried in Maple Grove Cemetery located in Candor, N.Y. (Photo by JoAnn R. Walter)
From left, historian/author and Vietnam veteran, Jerry Marsh, Veterans of Modern Warfare member Bill Reynolds, Tioga County historian Emma Sedore, Boy Scouts Josh Wagoner and Andrew Larter from Endicott, N.Y. Troop 202, Veterans of Modern Warfare members Charlie Ellis and Danielle Ingram and V.F.W. Memorial Chairman and Korean War veteran, Jim Raftis, Sr., gathered at the Tioga County Veterans Memorial on Jan. 16 to discuss a project taken on by the Scouts. (Provided photo)
Seventeen year old Josh Wagoner and fourteen year old Andrew Larter, Boy Scouts from Troop 202 in Endicott, N.Y., have taken on a challenging task of recording information from Civil War veterans graves located within Maple Grove Cemetery in Candor, N.Y.
The Scouts, along with Newark Valley historian and author, Jerry Marsh, Tioga County historian, Emma Sedore, as well as Danielle Ingram, Bill Reynolds and Charlie Ellis of the Veterans of Modern Warfare group (VMW), and V.F.W. Memorial Chairman and Korean War veteran, Jim Raftis, Sr., gathered at the Tioga County Veterans Memorial on Jan. 16 to discuss the project.
When placing wreaths at Maple Grove in December for Wreaths Across America, the VMW group fell short of enough wreaths to cover the cemetery, and it was then that they recognized the multiple rows of Civil War veterans, which include approximately 250 graves.
Iraq combat nurse and veteran Danielle Ingram explained that the group learned that records of the Civil War veterans buried at Maple Grove Cemetery are incomplete. In turn, a search for Scouts to actively take on the task was launched.
For Wagoner and Larter, it is not only the opportunity for them to expand Eagle Scout service projects and other scouting goals on a personal level, it will ultimately benefit the community. The Eagle Scout is the highest achievement attainable in the Boy Scouting program.
Marsh, who authored the book, “The Brotherhood of Battle: The Civil War Soldiers and Families of Newark Valley, New York,” is pleased that Wagoner and Larter are taking on the project. The end result will give due recognition to Tioga County veterans who served during the Civil War and the information will be a significant resource for generations to come.
Raftis hopes that these efforts will inspire others to help in similar ways throughout Tioga County.
The VMW welcomes new veterans to join their group. They meet the first Saturday of each month from 11 a.m. to noon in the Church of Commons, located on the corner of Main Street and Armstrong Place in Owego. What is thought to be an old Army Chapel moved to Owego from North or South Carolina, the building suffered considerable damage during the flood of 2011 and is in the process of being restored.
