Memorial Day tributes planned at Salisbury National Cemetery

SALISBURY, N.C. (WBTV) - Before any of the barbecues or parades, there’s tribute to fallen heritage. One such tribute will take place at Salisbury National Cemetery Memorial Day, Monday, May 29th, beginning at 10 a.m.

The program features keynote speaker, award-winning author Tom Ruck along with Salisbury Mayor Karen Alexander with a proclamation and Memorial wreath, along with the Rowan County Honor Guard presenting Colors, and hosted by ( Ret ) U.S. Army Major, Queen E. Williams. Local songstress Martha Corriher will also feature a medley of patriotic ballads.

The value of America celebrating all who have served, is a tribute by author, Tom Ruck. and his book, “Sacred Ground – A Tribute to America’s Veterans” a Memorial Day salute to fallen Troops, especially since the book cover features Salisbury National Cemetery.

Hear his narrative honoring patriotism with a plea to capture and preserve family history,as well as salute the 50th Anniversary of the National Cemetery Administration. Ruck recently spoke last week at Camp Legacy during a Vietnam War Commemoration with Wreaths Across America Radio.

A popular military speaker, Ruck was an invited guest speaker at the 70th anniversary of D-Day (2014) in Sainte Mere-Eglise in Normandy, France honoring the men of the 82nd and 101st Airborne

for their courageous efforts that fateful day. He has also been honored to deliver keynote speeches at numerous national cemeteries during Memorial Day, Veterans Day and Wreaths Across America events, with more than 100 radio and TV appearances.

Ruck’s book, “Sacred Ground – A Tribute to America’s Veterans” was a Top Five best seller at Amazon, commenting: “I created this book as a labor of love to honor the truest of American heroes, our veterans.””Sacred Ground” published by the Regnery Group ( now part of Salem Media Group ) was awarded a Gold Medal from the Military Writers Society of America, Grand Prize winner at the Branson Stars andFlags Book Awards, and also winner of the USA Best Book Awards - Military History category. Additionally, Ruck was recipient of a commendation from the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and honoredby hosting four consecutive book signings at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library (2009 – 2012).The book also features a Forward by Senator Robert J Dole.

All royalties generated by the sales of “Sacred Ground” go directly to the Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund. Ruck comments, “What I love about this book is that kids who have been dealt a traumatic blow bythe loss of a parent while they were serving this great country of ours will know that America has not forgotten them or the sacrifice of their parent.”

Currently a Senior Advisor with the Department of Homeland Security in Washington DC and the Blue Campaign, the nationwide effort combating Human Trafficking.

Ruck is a graduate of the University of Missouri in Columbia, and hails from the St. Louis area where he was active in many volunteer and philanthropic organizations.

He is a Visiting Fellow to the Freedom Alliance Foundation, and is also a member of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses, and the Springfield, Va Post 176 Sons of the AmericanLegion. He continues traveling the nation honoring Veterans programming.

More than half of the Veteran Administration cemeteries manifested from the Civil War and many several now closed to any burials. Although historic themes may vary, the core theme remains “Why is it here?” Discover the National Cemetery Administration and learn more about our national heritage Honoring our Troops.

The Salisbury National Cemetery was founded by the Confederacy to serve as burial grounds for captured Union troops imprisoned at the local Salisbury. Historical reports indicate that the Salisbury prison had one of the highest death rates of military POW with nearly half of the prisoners succumbing to starvation or disease. When the practice of prisoner exchanges ended in 1864, reports indicated Union prisoners doubled from 5K to 10K by that Fall. Historical research disputes the actual number of fallen troops buried at the Salisbury grounds, reportedly internment were more than a dozen trenches.

Unlikely to ever know the total burial count, however the most accurate government issued tally can be reviewed at the Role of Honor XIV curated by the Office of the U.S. Army Quartermaster General in 1868. Following the war, this area became designated as the with a few hundred more internments relocated from Charlotte, Lexington, Morgantown and elsewhere. The cemetery was dedicated in 1874 and with a wall built surrounding the area the following year, and by 1876 a monument and headstones graced this place of rest.

Other tributes include, the Maine Monument erected 1909 and the Pennsylvania Monument was erected in 1910 to salute the patriotic heroism of the many hundred officers and troops of the Pennsylvania volunteers that succumbed confined as POWs. In 1999, the Salisbury National Cemetery was formally recorded on the National Register of Historic Places.

More recently in 1990, the Rowan County Veterans Council dedicated The All Wars Monument located near the flagpole and bearing plaques of each service branch. Most recent tribute was dedication of the 4th Marine Division in 2002.