Just One Look...The Story of 2nd Lt. Clair Truby

A photograph is what started it all. Licensed Battlefield Guide Ralph Siegel saw the smile of 2nd Lt. Clair Truby, co-pilot of a World War II bomber, and he was intrigued.

"Look at his face, the character...," Siegel explains. "He's straight out of 1940s America, complete with a Dick Tracy haircut."

A native of Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, Truby is one of 1,624 World War II vets buried in Soldiers' National Cemetery. Siegel had to know more about this charismatic airman who served in the Army Air Force's 833rd Bomb Squadron. 

He learned that Truby flew a B-24 Liberator, one of 18,000 that were mass-produced during World War II.

"Nothing near those numbers has ever been made in aviation history, not just military history, but the entire history of aviation," explains Siegel. While many airmen christened their planes with tough names, Truby's bore the unlikely name "Winnie the Pooh."

Truby, along with his co-pilot, Lt. William Moseley and eight crew members, were assigned to "Operation Transportation," which obliterated the French transportation system in 1944. Siegel learned that Truby and his crew were bombing train tables on June 8, 1944 and flying at such a low level that the blasts from the bombs damaged their plane. Attempting an emergency landing in England, the entire crew of 10 was killed.

It's the first of dozens of heartbreaking stories that Siegel has researched over the past five years. A Licensed Battlefield Guide for 10 years, Siegel credits two other guides, Roy Frampton and Richard Hohmann, with sharing their knowlege of World War II soldiers buried in Gettysburg. Siegel now leads specialized tours through the cemetery, entirely focused on the stories of World War II veterans, Army airmen like Truby, or those who died at Pearl Harbor and D-Day.

He has even developed a tour that takes attendees through the entire chronological history of World War II, based upon the stories of soldiers united in rest at Gettysburg.

"There's more to America's military sacrifice than the Civil War," Siegel says. "The guts of these young men [in World War II]...what astounds me is not so much that they get into these planes the first time, but that they get into them a second and third time...it's unimaginable.

"Because of this central place, because of this cemetery, because of Abraham Lincoln, their sacrifice deepens the [American] story."

Visit Ralph Siegel's website for more information. Siegel's World War II-themed cemetery tours are typically offered to the public every June on the anniversary of D-Day and September during World War II Weekend. A resident of Mercerville, New Jersey, Siegel regularly travels to Gettysburg to lead Licensed Battlefield Guided tours. Contact the LBG desk at the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum and Visitor Center at 877-874-2478.

—Written by Karen Hendricks

Parking Updates for Gettysburg Dedication Day Event

Gettysburg National Military Park is temporarily closing certain roads in order to facilitate the parking and shuttle transportation system for the ceremony marking the 150th Anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address on November 19 at the Soldiers' National Cemetery.

Beginning at 6 a.m. the following roads will close: Taneytown Road from the access road to the Museum and Visitor Center north to the intersection with Steinwehr Avenue, and all of Sedgwick, United States, Hancock, Pleasonton and Hunt Avenues. The park expects to reopen the roads at approximately 2 p.m.

The Dedication Day ceremony begins at 10 a.m. and will last approximately 90 minutes. The event is free; no ticket will be required to enter. Gettysburg National Military Park, the Gettysburg Foundation, the Lincoln Fellowship of Pennsylvania and Gettysburg College sponsor the annual ceremony. 

PARKING: Free parking is provided at the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum and Visitor Center, 1195 Baltimore Pike and numerous satellite parking areas with free shuttles. When the Museum and Visitor Center lots are full, vehicles will be directed to the Outlet Shoppes at Gettysburg, 1863 Gettysburg Village Dr., and then to other lots as needed. Temporary signs will be in place to direct cars to the overflow lots as needed. 

ACCESSIBILITY: A limited number of handicapped parking spaces will be available in the National Cemetery North parking lot. After parking or riding the shuttle, people with mobility impairments should use the cemetery entrance on Taneytown Road.  

SHUTTLE/TRANSPORTATION: The York Adams Transportation Authority will provide free shuttle buses from satellite parking areas beginning at 6 a.m. and running until 8:30 p.m.

CHARTER BUS PARKING AND DROP-OFF: Charter buses and motor coaches must drop off and park along Hancock Avenue via United States Avenue.

For more information, please visit Gettysburg National Military Park's website or call 717-334-1124.

Addressing the Gettysburg Address 150th Anniversary

Tips and resources for attending Dedication Day activities

Information compiled by Anna Seils

This year commemorates not only the 150^th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, but also the Gettysburg Address. The Dedication Day ceremony will take place on November 19, and this year’s event brings with it crowds.

The ceremony will take place at 10 a.m. in the Soldiers’ National Cemetery. Pulitzer Prize-winning historian James McPherson will speak at the event, which also features Gov. Tom Corbett, a reading of the Gettysburg Address by Lincoln portrayer James Getty and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will administer the Oath of Allegiance to 16 new citizens. The ceremony will last approximately 90 minutes and is free; no ticket will be required to enter. 

Parking:  Free parking is provided at the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum and Visitor Center, 1195 Baltimore Pike, and numerous satellite parking areas with free shuttles. When the Museum and Visitor Center lots are full, vehicles will be directed to the Outlet Shoppes at Gettysburg, 1863 Gettysburg Village Dr., and then to other lots as needed. Temporary signs will be in place to direct cars to the overflow lots as needed.  

Accessibility: A limited number of handicapped parking spaces will be available in the National Cemetery south parking lot. People with mobility impairments should use the cemetery entrance on Taneytown Road.  

Shuttle/Transportation: The York Adams Transportation Authority will provide free shuttle buses from satellite parking areas beginning at 6 a.m. and running until 8:30 p.m.

Charter Bus Parking and Drop-off: Charter buses and motor coaches must drop off and park along Hancock Avenue via United States Avenue.

Additional Viewing Areas for the Public: Due to limited viewing space for the public in the National Cemetery, additional free viewing areas for a live simulcast are available. An outdoor viewing area with 2,000 chairs will be set up on the lawn north of Meade’s Headquarters in Gettysburg National Military Park. Indoor viewing areas are available at the Majestic Theater, 25 Carlisle St., and at the Gateway Gettysburg Theater, 20 Presidential Circle. No tickets are required for these locations. Theater seating is available beginning at 8:30 a.m.  

Live coverage of the event begins at 9 a.m. with a musical prelude and the ceremony beginning at 10 a.m. Live coverage will be available via the Internet by following links from the park website and the Gettysburg Foundation website.

Here’s a summary of more events taking place on November 19:

From Lincoln’s Desk: A Special Display of Signed Documents – A special exhibit in the Gettysburg Address Gallery of the Museum of the American Civil War including the following documents: pages with signatures of individuals who attended the November 19, 1863 Dedication Ceremony in Gettysburg; a letter from President Lincoln to a member of his administration specifying remarks in a newspaper; and a signed pardon from President Lincoln. Opening Saturday, November 16, at the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum and Visitor Center, 1195 Baltimore Pike. Admission is included in the price of the Cyclorama, Film and Museum ticket. Open daily, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

Graveside Salute to the U.S. Colored Troops – On November 19 at noon in the Soldiers’ National Cemetery at the grave of Charles H. Parker, located along the west side of the cemetery. Keynote speaker is Scott Hancock, associate professor of History and Africana Studies at Gettysburg College. Sponsored by “For the Cause” Productions and Gettysburg National Military Park. For more information, go to www.gettysburghistories.com.

Bliss Farm Tree Planting Dedication – On November 19 at 2:30 p.m., the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership, in collaboration with Gettysburg National Military Park and The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resource’s TreeVitalize program, will conduct a tree planting ceremony at the Bliss Farm on the fields of Pickett’s Charge. The tree planting is part of the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership’s Living Legacy Project, an initiative with the goal of planting one tree for each of the 620,000 soldiers that died during the American Civil War. The ceremony is free and open to the public and includes remarks by park Superintendent Bob Kirby, keynote remarks by General Gordon R. Sullivan (USA – Retired), a former Army Chief of Staff and a performance by the West Point Alumni Glee Club. The event takes place on Long Lane just west of Steinwehr Avenue. More information can be found at www.hallowedground.org.

Gettysburg Addresses Lincoln Event – On November 19 at 4 p.m. at the Gettysburg Presbyterian Church, 200 Baltimore St., Brian M. Jordan, Civil War scholar and adjust instructor in Civil War Era Studies at Gettysburg College, will speak on “The Unfinished Work: Union Veterans, The Gettysburg Address, and the Meaning of the Civil War.” Call 717-334-0753 for more details.

November / December Preview!

10th Annual Adams County Young Men's and Young Women's Leadership Conferences

By Anna Seils

Michael Pritchard

Middle school students throughout Adams County will have the opportunity to promote their personal leadership skills Tuesday, October 15. The 10^th Annual Adams County Young Men’s and Young Women’s Leadership Conferences will be held at Gettysburg College and Gettysburg High School. 

These conferences will host a variety of speakers from the community and national speakers, including one of the most popular keynote speakers in the United States, Michael Pritchard. 

The Young Women’s Leadership Conference will feature 33 workshops led by community leaders throughout Adams County. Students attending the conferences are asked to bring food items to support the United Way’s Bag the Bounty food drive. 

Jim Holler

Retired Liberty Township Police Chief Jim Holler will address every seventh grader in Adams County concerning Internet safety at the conference. Holler is a nationally known expert who travels extensively to educate students and families about the issues of keeping students safe in cyberspace and focuses on Internet predators, sexting, legal and emotional issues.

In the evening, there will be a program for parents and families from 7-8 p.m. featuring Michael Pritchard. This event is free and will take place in the Gettysburg Area High School auditorium.  

Learn more about the conference by contacting the event's co-chair John Wagner at 717-891-8810 or johnwagner1949@gmail.com. 

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Government shutdown affects Gettysburg

By: Anna Seils

           

Visitors to the Gettysburg National Military Park will have to seek alternate activities today due to the government shutdown which has closed park roads and halted ranger-led tours at the park. The Museum and Visitor Center will be open because they are operated by the nonprofit Gettysburg Foundation. 

The shutdown has also affected government websites associated with the park. The National Park Service website, www.nps.gov, has issued this statement online: “Because of the federal government shutdown, all national parks are closed and National Park Service webpages are not operating.” Many websites ending in .gov are offline today, including the White House and TSA website. 

The Klu Klux Klan rally, which was planned for this weekend in Gettysburg, has been cancelled due to the shutdown, according to a Gettysburg National Military Park news release. Event organizers, as well as other events scheduled for this weekend, have had their permits revoked.

Stay tuned to the blog for updates on the government shutdown. For more information, visit www.usa.gov  or call 800-FED-INFO (800-333-4636).  

Looking for Lincoln's Gettysburg Address

Cornell University, The White House, the Library of Congress, the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Illinois ... they're all places that own original, authenticated copies of President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. But Gettysburg is not one of them.

Pennsylvania state Sen. Robert Casey recently petitioned the Library of Congress to borrow one of the library's two copies of the Gettysburg Address so that it can be temporarily displayed in Gettysburg in time for the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address on Dedication Day, November 19.

Citing fragility of the documents and their priceless nature, the Library of Congress declined, saying that a 1990 policy forbids the library from loaning out its irreplaceable documents, including the rough draft of Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence and the Gettysburg Address.

What do you think? Should Gettysburg be granted a special exception given the significance of the anniversary or should Gettysburg look elsewhere? Post your comments here or on our Facebook page.