Good poem about a real patriot. John Burns was 69,
lived in Gettysburg, Pa., and a veteran of the War of 1812. He joined in the Gettysburg battle more or less uninvited due to his age but younger Union soldiers admired him as he was a good shot. He was wounded and unable to walk so he was treated and taken to his home where he recovered from his wounds. When Lincoln came there he requested to meet with John Burns.
A statue of him was erected on the battlefield in 1903.

By Carolyn on Jul 26, 2008 at 6:21 pm

John H. Burns, age 89, died on August 15th, 2008 at 6:05 a.m. in Blessing Hospital.
He was born December 18, 1918.
John was a Staff Sergeant in the US Army’s Anti-Tank Company, 129th Infantry Regiment, 37th Ohio Infantry Division during WWII.
He served 30 months in combat in campaigns in the Fiji Islands, New Hebrides, Guadalcanal, Bougainville, and Luzon in the Phillipine Islands.
He was a leader of a squad of ten men and was as tough as nails. On 24 March, 1944, on Bougainville, he attacked a Japanese pill box and dropped in two hand grenades killing the enemy. His soldiers admired him because he never asked them to do more than he would do himself.
His decorations included the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster, and the Combat Infantryman’s Badge.
When I read this account about 69 year young John Burns fighting in the Civil War I thought of him. It was something he would have done. Even till the end of his life he was a “crack” shot with a rifle and a very brave man.
In the end, he was felled by community pneumonia after taking chemo-therapy for Cancer.
How do I know all this?
He was my Dad.

By James Burns on Oct 2, 2008 at 6:23 pm