LetsTripOutAndDie
03-08-2013, 06:45 PM
ARLINGTON, Va. – *Two unknown crewmen found in the USS Monitor's turret will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery 150 years after the Civil War sank off the North Carolina coast.
Navy Secretary Ray Mabus is scheduled to speak during Friday's ceremony, which will include Monitor kin who believe the two Union sailors are their ancestors.*
Sixteen sailors died when the Monitor went down in rough seas off Cape Hatteras on March 9, 1862. The two crew members' skeletons and the remains of their uniforms were found in 2002 when the ship's rusted turret was raised from the ocean floor.
The Monitor made nautical history when it fought in the first battle between two ironclads. The battle with the CSS Virginia was a draw.
“These may very well be the last Navy personnel from the Civil War to be buried at Arlington," Mabus said in a statement earlier this week. “It’s important we honor these brave men and all they represent as we reflect upon the significant role Monitor and her crew had in setting the course of our modern Navy."
Although testing has narrowed the identities of the men down to six, descendants of all 16 soldiers who died when the ship sank are expected at the ceremony.*
Diana Rambo, of Fresno, Calif., said DNA testing showed a 50 percent chance that one man was Jacob Nicklis, her grandfather’s uncle. A ring on his right finger matched one in an old photograph, adding to the likelihood he was her relative. She had planned to be Friday's ceremony, she said
“It’s been interesting to be connected to something so momentous, and we’re looking forward to the ceremony,” Rambo told FoxNews.com.
She said the development has brought several branches of the family together as they sift through old letters and photos and piece together their shared genealogy. One letter in particular made her long-lost relative seem real.
“I’ve started doing the research, and even read letters he wrote to his father saying he really didn’t want to go,” said Rambo, who was able to tell her 90-year-old mother of the Navy’s revelation a week before her death. “And you think about how many of these kids today are in that situation.” :USA: #Salute
Navy Secretary Ray Mabus is scheduled to speak during Friday's ceremony, which will include Monitor kin who believe the two Union sailors are their ancestors.*
Sixteen sailors died when the Monitor went down in rough seas off Cape Hatteras on March 9, 1862. The two crew members' skeletons and the remains of their uniforms were found in 2002 when the ship's rusted turret was raised from the ocean floor.
The Monitor made nautical history when it fought in the first battle between two ironclads. The battle with the CSS Virginia was a draw.
“These may very well be the last Navy personnel from the Civil War to be buried at Arlington," Mabus said in a statement earlier this week. “It’s important we honor these brave men and all they represent as we reflect upon the significant role Monitor and her crew had in setting the course of our modern Navy."
Although testing has narrowed the identities of the men down to six, descendants of all 16 soldiers who died when the ship sank are expected at the ceremony.*
Diana Rambo, of Fresno, Calif., said DNA testing showed a 50 percent chance that one man was Jacob Nicklis, her grandfather’s uncle. A ring on his right finger matched one in an old photograph, adding to the likelihood he was her relative. She had planned to be Friday's ceremony, she said
“It’s been interesting to be connected to something so momentous, and we’re looking forward to the ceremony,” Rambo told FoxNews.com.
She said the development has brought several branches of the family together as they sift through old letters and photos and piece together their shared genealogy. One letter in particular made her long-lost relative seem real.
“I’ve started doing the research, and even read letters he wrote to his father saying he really didn’t want to go,” said Rambo, who was able to tell her 90-year-old mother of the Navy’s revelation a week before her death. “And you think about how many of these kids today are in that situation.” :USA: #Salute