VENTURA, Calif. – The grave site for an 1860s Army hero awarded the Medal of Honor is now a popular Ventura dog park with poop soiling what veterans say should be sacred ground.
"Talk to any veteran, he will tell you it is a terrible thing. It's disrespectful," said retired Marine Sgt. Craig "Gunny" Donor, who served two tours in Vietnam and is bent on getting the soldier's remains moved.
Pvt. James Sumner, who was awarded the nation's highest military honor for gallant actions after a band of Apache Indians kidnapped a settler's child, died in 1912 and he was buried in what was then St. Mary's Cemetery.
Most of the flat grave markers have been hauled away, but a few dozen markers still pepper the 7-acre Cemetery Memorial Park that was home to about 3,000 permanent residents. Most were never relocated.
The lush, well-manicured hillside patch of green on Main Street just a few blocks east of downtown Ventura has pine, thickets of overgrown junipers and a magnificent view of the Pacific Ocean and Ventura Pier.
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Sumner died in 1912 at age 72. He never married and there are no heirs, Donor said. "I'm trying to get him moved to Bakersfield National Cemetery. He needs to be moved to a place of respect. Cemeteries are solemn places," said Donor.
But Ventura leaders have so far balked at moving Sumner.
"We are treating him pretty darn well, except for the poop," parks and recreation commissioner Sharon Troll told the Ventura County Star. <<<<< ass-Ho to be kicked...
The commission voted July 21 to postpone for two months Donor's request to unearth Sumner. Park commissioners have told Donor they're committed to a long-delayed effort to commemorate the area pioneers and military dead in the park. <<<<< more ass-Ho's to be kicked...
But Donor, who lives in Fontana and is a state captain for the Patriot Guard Riders, a motorcycle club that honors fallen veterans, isn't convinced. He expects the fight to wind up in court.
"He has no family, no one else to stand up for him, except for his brothers and sister in arms," Donor said.
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Go raibh tú leathuair ar Neamh sula mbeadh a fhios ag an diabhal go bhfuil tú marbh
"May you be a half hour in heaven before the devil knows you’re dead"
Location: 18 yrs upstate NY, 30 yrs South Florida, 20 yrs Conch Republic, now chasing G-Kids in NOVA & UK
Posts: 11,901
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tatonka316
PLEASE keep me posted if there is ANYTHING we can do about the travesty!!!
molon labe
I sent the note to the VA,, but I have a feeling this is not a Federal Veterans Cemetery nor on the National Parks Historic watch list.
I suspect that the only venue available is the local political machinery.
If anyone knows a local election and can get the ear of the Republican,, or Democrat,, and local MSM,, maybe a deal can be expedited,, before the elections..
Given all the hard work the Patriot Guard Riders has done in the past, there may be little that can be done.
Oh,, and then there is Arnold...
My fear is they have put in for Federal grant monies and as soon as it show up, they will release the graves for re-internment..
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Go raibh tú leathuair ar Neamh sula mbeadh a fhios ag an diabhal go bhfuil tú marbh
"May you be a half hour in heaven before the devil knows you’re dead"
Having dealt with some similar issues around our family ranch in the Sacramento area, we found that CA has very strict laws pertaining to the recording, upkeep, and use of its so-called 'pioneer' cemeteries like this one - I would wager this was not cleared through the State Historian's office and, when found out, the City of Ventura is going to find themselves in a costly bind.
And so it goes...
Richard's $.02
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“Sometimes the Bible in the hand of one man is worse than a whisky bottle in the hand of (another)… There are just some kind of men who – who’re so busy worrying about the next world they’ve never learned to live in this one, and you can look down the street and see the results.” - To Kill A Mockingbird (Atticus Finch)
“Almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so.” - Robert Heinlein
Having dealt with some similar issues around our family ranch in the Sacramento area, we found that CA has very strict laws pertaining to the recording, upkeep, and use of its so-called 'pioneer' cemeteries like this one - I would wager this was not cleared through the State Historian's office and, when found out, the City of Ventura is going to find themselves in a costly bind.
And so it goes...
Richard's $.02
Geez Richard,I hope your right.............. It's shameful what they've done to this Hero.........
Big Teddy
__________________ I believe that SF is a 'calling' - not too different from the calling missionaries I know received. I knew instantly that it was for me, and that I would do all I could to achieve it. Most others I know in SF experienced something similar. If, as you say, you HAVE searched and read, and you do not KNOW if this is the path for you --- it is not.... Zonie Diver
SF is a calling and it requires commitment and dedication that the uninitiated will never understand...... Jack Moroney
Also tells of PVT Sumner's actions - remember, at that time the MOH was the only medal awarded for valor.
Medal of Honor winner Private James Sumner, Company G, 1st US Cavalry rests in this 'park'. He recieved his Medal of Honor for "gallantry-in-a-charge" on Oct. 20, 1869 in the Chiricahua Mts, Arizona. Awarded on Feb. 14, 1870. Cochise and the Apaches had kidnapped a white settler child in order to draw the 21 soldiers of the 1st Cavalry, Comany G into a box canyon and an ambush. A firefight from hell ensued. The Indians that weren't killed, disappeared into the hills. Two soldiers were killed. All 21 soldiers were awarded the MoH.
FWIW - I also sent the following note to the St Mary's Organizer regarding his post on the Tomb of The Unknown Soldier.
Mr Schleder,
I am a retired US Army Special Forces Officer. I was browsing your web-site and, after reviewing the link on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, felt the necessity to let you know that the e-mail which has floated around on the Internet for a number of years now and which you've posted contains a number of patently false 'facts' about the monument and its guard force. Snopes has done a good job of providing a dissection of the e-mail and either confirming or refuting the claims being made; their summary can be found at:
I wish you the best of luck with your quest to retain and restore the pioneer cemeteries.
Sincerely,
And so it goes...
Richard
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“Sometimes the Bible in the hand of one man is worse than a whisky bottle in the hand of (another)… There are just some kind of men who – who’re so busy worrying about the next world they’ve never learned to live in this one, and you can look down the street and see the results.” - To Kill A Mockingbird (Atticus Finch)
“Almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so.” - Robert Heinlein
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"The Nation that makes a great distinction between its scholars and its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards and its fighting done by fools." -- Thucydides
It's shameful what they've done to this Hero......... 
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