Column: Don't forget the forgotten on Memorial Day

Under the cool shade of a grove of trees behind Fuji Park and across Clear Creek near Baily Pond rest two Union soldiers.

The American Civil War veterans were laid to rest here more than a century ago back when the property was site of the Ormsby County Poor Farm.

Unlike dozens of United States Army dead re-interred from Fort Churchill in 1885, James Johnson and John Thoroughman remain where they were originally buried and separated from their Grand Army of the Republic brethren collectively resting beneath the soil at Lone Mountain Cemetery.

Johnson, a veteran of Company A Fourth California Volunteer Infantry, and Thoroughman of Company B First Nevada Volunteer Cavalry could have easily been overlooked this Memorial Day had it not been for the efforts of Carson City residents who ensure no veteran is ever forgotten.

Thanks to community members who care enough to recognize all those who have served throughout history, deceased veterans from centuries past have their final resting places decorated with humble little American flags honoring their service to the nation.

It's a lesson for all of us.

Memorial Day isn't just an observance of service men and women we remember. It was meant to be for all of them — even those relegated now to the annals of history.

I have genuine affection for our Korean and Vietnam War veterans.

Those still with us from the "Greatest Generation" of World War II are second to none.

I highly regard all of the men and women who served and sacrificed in places around the world during my young lifetime, too — from Central America to the Middle East.

But with all due respect to our veterans of modern day conflicts, their service is still fresh in the minds and memories of most Americans. So they receive the lion's share of attention on observances like Memorial Day and Veterans Day.

The veterans who served long ago, however, tend to be more easily and conveniently dismissed by a culture that seems to live only in the moment.

While I am sure this is unintentional, neglect of the past is a reality.

I've seen and heard enough man-on-the-street interview segments over the years to know that generations of Americans have grown up unaware of our country's history.

Sadly, many aren't able to distinguish between the American Civil War and World War I, much less explain why we fought in those conflicts.

This puts the memory of veterans laying at rest in jeopardy of later being forgotten by future generations.

Eventually, veterans from the Twentieth Century will all pass away. They and their service will one day exist only in the pages of history.

And they, too, will be at risk of neglect from the living, who may know enough to pay proper respect to American service men and women, but who may not know that the remains of veterans of service long ago still rest in their communities.

Thoroughman and Johnson served during one of America's most tumultuous and critical periods. Our nation's young life, not just her liberty was at stake. More than 600,000 soldiers and sailors died between 1861 and 1865.

The war devastated the topographical landscape of the nation, while completely changing its political, economic and social frameworks.

It liberated millions of lives, but at the cost of hundreds of thousands of others.

Besides Thoroughman and Johnson, Carson City is the final resting place of about 140 other known American Civil War veterans. Around three dozen more unknown soldiers from Fort Churchill rest alongside of them in a northwest section of Lone Mountain Cemetery.

A monument was raised to honor all of them.

But monuments only have any real impact when people know they are there. Knowledge is what makes the difference.

I hope we all endeavor to become a little more knowledgeable of Nevada's proud veteran history, which dates back more than 150 years.

Adjacent to Lone Mountain Cemetery's American Civil War monument also rest veterans from other historical conflicts, such as World War I and the Spanish American War. These veterans do not deserve to be lost on the minds and memories of the living, either.

Let's also not forget about a few more veterans resting above Empire Ranch in the old Empire Cemetery behind the Waste Management complex and adjacent to the 3D Concrete plant off Deer Run Road, as well as those in the historic Stewart Indian School Cemetery located in South Carson City off Snyder Avenue.

If you are attending any of the Memorial Day services around Carson City, I hope you will take the time to visit the remains of Thoroughman, Johnson, their American Civil War brethren, and many others from eras past who are interred here in the Nevada state capital.

Show them that they are not forgotten after all.

Go here to learn more about the American Civil War veterans buried in Carson City.

To my four known great-great grandfathers who served during the American Civil War: I have forgotten neither you nor your contributions to the country.

To my dad, a U.S. Air Force veteran, and his dad, a U.S. Army World War I veteran, happy Memorial Day to you both. May you continue to rest in God's everlasting peace.