Military Monday: Following a graveside flag

There is a flag at Uncle Jim's grave. He is buried at the Old Doe Run Presbyterian Cemetery out on Strasburg Road in East Fallowfield Township in Chester County, PA.

He shares his plot with his father, Pierson G.; mother, Mary K.; and his two sisters, Margaret and Dorothy. My aunt, Pierson's sister Helen, had told me that my great grandfather was in the National Guard but never actively served. So process of elimination dictates the flag is for my uncle ... but he never spoke of the military.

James Franklin Still, the oldest of two sons (my grandfather Lloyd being the other), was born 5 September 1910 in East Fallowfield Township. He passed on 18 February 1979. Uncle Jim lived with my grandparents in his later years, when he moved back East. He had worked for King's Ranch in the Unionville area and he went out West through them. He would often tell us kids stories of his cowboy days! But ... what about that flag?

A quick search on Ancestry.com revealed the Department of Veteran's Affairs BIRLS Death File. That document, which confirms both birth and death dates, shows Uncle Jim enlisted in the US Army on 7 April 1942. He was released on 9 June 1945.

I spoke with several family members who recall that he had served in WWII in the European Theater. Unfortunately that is ALL I have found on him ... adding Uncle Jim's military service to my Genealogy Bucket List!

Source:
Ancestry.com. U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

Military Monday is a genealogical prompt issued by GeneaBloggers.

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