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Posted on 06/05/2014 6:34:40 AM PDT by Phillyred
We are the dead; short days ago/
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,/
Loved and were loved, and now we lie/
In Flanders fields.
—In Flanders Fields
Lt. Col. John McRae
John B. Young was born more than a century ago. His parents lived in Salford Township, but he also lived with his maternal grandparents in Telford before being killed while fighting in World War I.
Femke Heynderycx is 17 and lives in Ghent, Belgium.
At first, it would seem they don’t have much in common, but Heynderycx, who has adopted Young’s Flanders fields grave, says they’re now family and she’s hoping to hear from other family members who might have information about Young.
At a Memorial Day ceremony — observed in Belgium on May 30, the traditional Memorial Day date, which has been changed in the United States in order to make a three-day weekend — Heyndercyx saw Young’s grave for the first time and brought flowers to honor him.
“I consider him now as a member of the family, because he has done so much for my country, humanity, democracy and freedom,” Heynderycx wrote in an email for this article.
“I have great respect for those who fought for my freedom and democracy,” Heynderycx wrote in an earlier email to the Indian Valley Public Library, asking if the library had information about Young.
Reference librarian Deborah Faulkner responded with a copy of a Nov. 29, 1918, Souderton Independent article — microfilmed copies, going back to June 2, 1881, of the Independent are kept at the library — telling about Young’s death, along with forwarding census and other information about Young and the family. While unusual, this wasn’t the first time she’s gotten an overseas request for information, Faulkner said.
“I got a phone call once from Antarctica and he had a reference question,” Faulkner said.
In that case, though, the man, who was in the military, was actually calling his home library.
“He was from Harleysville,” Faulkner said.
The “Adopt-a-Grave” program was started by the American Legion Post BE02 and the Flanders Field American Cemetery, Heynderycx said. The American cemetery is 22 miles from Ghent, she said.
Adopters are expected to visit the grave regularly, particularly on occasions such as Memorial Day and Armistice Day and to place flowers on the grave, she said.
After hearing on TV about the grave adoption program, she thought it would be an honor to take part in it, Heynderycx said.
“I also have family in New York City so it’s also a way of saying ‘thank you’ for accepting my family,” she wrote.
Applicants can choose a specific soldier’s grave they wish to adopt, but she deliberately left it up to the adoption program to choose for her, she said.
“I think it’s such an honor that I could adopt a grave even though I am so young (17 years old), still at school,” she wrote. Heynderycx said her hobbies include violin and the astronomy club.
There are 368 graves in the portion of the cemetery in which Young is buried and about 100 are still available for adoption, she said.
Heynderycx’s email was particularly timely in connection with programs being held this year noting the 100-year anniversary of the start of World War I, Faulkner said.
The library has three events planned “and maybe we’ll continue it with more,” Faulkner said.
On Thursday, June 19, there will be a book discussion of Ernest Hemingway’s “A Farewell to Arms,” Hemingway’s fictionalized account of his time spent as an ambulance driver in Italy in World War I. Movies about World War I will be shown at 6:55 p.m. Thursday, July 17, and at 1:05 p.m. Sunday, July 27. The names of the movies will be posted in the library.
Young’s parents, Benjamin and Elizabeth, lived in Salford Township, “west of Morwood,” but he had also lived with his maternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Enos Benner, on North Penn Avenue in Telford, according to the 1918 Souderton Independent article. In addition to his parents and maternal grandparents, he was survived by six siblings, Benjamin, Joseph, Enos, Sulie, Elizabeth and Edna.
Anyone with information about John B. Young can contact FHeynderycx at chantalenfemke@yahoo.com.
On Aug. 16, a special ceremony will be held at the cemetery during which all the adopters will get their certificate, Heynderycx said. There will also be an adoption ceremony held each August, she said.
Melanie Ford, digital services librarian at the Indian Valley Public Library, said she has been to Belgium.
“Every time I was there, it struck me that people, when they find out you’re American, they’re so grateful for what we did during the wars,” Ford said. “The wars are still so immediate to them because of the effects they had.”
Yes - That shows what, “Good Kid” means
In a world of gray skies as of late, a ray of light shines through every once in a while and gives you hope for the next generation even if they are overseas.
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Going off topic a little..but there are a great many in Europe who have never forgotten what the US did..twice...to save them.
I visited France probably 20x in the 70s-90s..and if you remember, that was when the French detested Americans...far more so than we can’t stand them today. Yet on about half those occasions, I went to visit Normandy, and these visits were not around June 6th...and I was overwhelmed with the kindness, the hospitality, the graciousness, and the warmth and thanks of all the people who lived in the area..they’d invite me into their homes to talk..tell their own stories of D-Day..point out the various spots where different events happened..totally changed my view of the French people..
Yes...I have a Canadian born friend whose father was shot down over France in WW2 and a prisoner for awhile...she and her brother went to the area @6 yrs ago and we’re overwhelmed with the gratitude of the locals
Wow, Harleysville, I went to grade school there!
What many Americans think of France is really Paris. The Normandy area is very pro-American.
We shouldn’t judge all of France by Paris, anymore than the world judging the US by New York City.
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