Honoring family heroes

Ninth Generation

Owen Joyce is a ninth generation descendant of Private George Sowers, who fought in the American Revolution.

Owen recently attended a re-dedication ceremony at George Sower's grave site in Floyd. After quietly observing the placing of flags beside the headstone, he insisted on placing his tiny flag on the
grave of his great, great, great, great, great, grandfather.

It seems that George Sowers was buried in 1834 in the historic Zion Lutheran Cemetery in Floyd, VA. when retired Master Sergeant Tom King started a campaign to rehabilitate the old graveyard and wanted to properly honor the fallen heroes that are buried there.

Once the headstone was restored to its rightful spot, Tom King started searching for the descendants of George Sowell and planned a re-dedication ceremony with military honors.

Procession

Here he leads the procession to the grave site where the ceremony was to be held.

Four generations of descendants descended on Floyd, many coming from North Carolina. They participated in a solemn ceremony, a family get-together, and then spent the morning visiting Floyd and the Blue Ridge Restaurant before heading home.

In today's world of nuclear and isolated families, it is heart-warming to see far-flung family members gathering to honor a soldier who died 175 years ago.

For the rest of the story and a complete set of images, visit fallenheroesoffloyd.org

This entry was posted in Country Living, Seen around Floyd and tagged , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

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