Heritage SD4
HERITAGE

Colonel Samuel D. Sturgis, for whom the town of Sturgis is named, came from a military family that included officers who had served in the American Revolution and the War of 1812. He graduated from West Point in 1846 and was promoted to the rank of Major General during the Civil War. He commanded the famed Seventh U. S. Cavalry from May 6, 1869, until his retirement in 1886. One of his sons was killed in the historic Battle of the Little Big Horn in 1876.

Another son, Samuel D. Sturgis II, was a general in World War I and a grandson, Samuel D. Sturgis III, became a general during World War II. Colonel Sturgis was one of the earliest post commanders at nearby Fort Meade when it was established in 1878 with his Seventh Cavalry as the principal garrison. He was a member of the Townsite Company that founded the town named for him. He was also a vigorous booster of the Black Hills and an active participant in the early development of the region. His retirement at Fort Meade on June 11, 1886, at age sixty-five, marked the end of forty years of outstanding service to his country. He died at St. Paul, MN, on September 29, 1889, and was buried with honors at the Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

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Nathan Bedford Forrest III, Airman 4E117

Brigadier General N.B. Forrest, III, U.S. Army Air Force, was born in Memphis on April 7,1905, and was the first American General Officer killed in combat against the Nazis during World War II. He died while participating in a B-17 bomber raid on Kiel, Germany, June 13, 1943.

A 1928 graduate of West Point, he served as Second Air Force Chief of Staff prior to transfer to the U.S. Eighth Air Force in England. He was the son of Memphians Nathan Bedford Forrest II and Mattie Patton Forrest, and great-grandson of Confederate Lt. General Nathan Bedford Forrest. In 1949 his body was returned from Germany and reburied in Arlington National Cemetery.

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Admiral Marc A. Mitscher WI79
Admiral Marc A. Mitscher, U.S. Navy, pioneer in naval aviation and commander of Naval Air Task Force 58, famed for its destruction of Japanese sea power in World War II, was born in Hillsboro, January 26, 1887. A 1910 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and the Naval Flying School, he served with dedicated purpose and distinguished achievement in a career that proved the effectiveness of naval aircraft carriers. As the result of his brilliant leadership, his indomitable fighting spirit, and his many conspicuous firsts in naval aviation, he was awarded many high decorations by the U.S. and foreign governments. Admiral Mitscher died Feb. 3, 1947, and lies in the hallowed ground of Arlington National Cemetery, always remembered and highly respected by all men of naval aviation.

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Thomas Scott Baldwin, 1858-1923 IL6
The home of Major Thomas Scott Baldwin, aviation pioneer, once stood at this location. Baldwin invented the first folding parachute here in 1887, and by the 1890's had become one of the highest paid parachute exhibitionists in the nation. He built the first successful airship for the Army Aviation Signal Corps in 1908. In 1915 he built the famous D-1 dirigible for the Navy and two years later became the chief of the newly formed Army Aviation Signal Corps. In 1964 he was named posthumously to the Aviation Hall of Fame in Dayton, Ohio. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

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Gen. Alexander Archer Vandegrift Q25
Gen. Alexander Archer Vandegrift was born in Charlottesville on 13 Mar. 1887. He entered the U.S. Marine Corps in 1909 and served on posts in the Caribbean, Central America, China, and the United States. General Vandegrift led American forces in their first successful major Pacific offensive in World War II at Guadalcanal and was awarded the Navy Cross and Medal of Honor. He also served as the Commandant of the Marine Corps from 1944 to 1947 and in 1945 became the first active-duty Marine four-star general. He died on 8 May 1973 and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

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Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd Q4G
25 October 1888 - 11 March 1957 Here was born and reared Richard Evelyn Byrd, aviator and polar explorer. A 1912 U.S. Naval Academy graduate, he received the Medal of Honor for the first flight over the North Pole in 1926, and made the first commerical nonstop transatlantic flight in 1927. In 1928 he organized and led the first of five Antartic expeditions, and flew over the South Pole in 1929. Byrd spent the winter of 1934 alone a hundred miles from his base at Little America, conducting scientific experiments. Of his several books, the best known is Alone. Byrd is regarded as the father of the Antartic Peace Treaty, which bans the military use of Antartica. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

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Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy WI304
William Daniel Leahy was born in Iowa in 1875, and his family soon moved to Wisconsin. He graduated from Ashland High School in 1892 and for the rest of his life considered Ashland his home town. Leahy graduated from the Naval Academy and served in the Spanish-American War. He planned naval operations for u.s. interventions in Nicaragua 0912), Haiti 0916), and Mexico 0916). During World War I, he became friendly with Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Franklin D. Roosevelt. Leahy was made chief of the Bureau of Ordinance in 1927, rear admiral in 1930, and chief of naval operations in 1937. During the darkest hours of World War II in 1942, President Roosevelt appointed Leahy chief of staff to the commander- in-chief. Leahy's tact and resourcefulness made him a valuable aide in military and diplomatic undertakings, including the inter-Allied conferences at Tehran, Yalta, and Potsdam. Admiral Leahy became the first American sailor, and the only Wisconsinite, to attain the five-star rank of Fleet Admiral. He died in 1959 and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

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Audie Murphy TX7820

Most decorated soldier in World War II. Born 4.5 miles south, June 20, 1924, sixth of nine children of tenant farmers Emmett and Josie Killian Murphy. Living on various farms, Audie Murphy went to school through the 8th grade in Celeste -- considered the family's home town. He had to quit school to help support the family, acquiring marksmanship skills by hunting to provide food. On his 18th birthday, after being rejected by the Marines because of his size (5 feet, 7 inches; 130 pounds), he enlisted in the Army while working in Greenville.

For unusual courage and bravery, he received 24 decorations, including the U.S. Congressional Medal of Honor; the French Legion of Honor, Chevalier: the Distinguished Service Cross; and a Silver Star.

After the war he became a successful actor, his most prominent role portraying himself in the film "To Hell and Back," his war career autobiography.

Following his untimely death in a plane crash in Virginia, May 28, 1971, and burial in Arlington National Cemetery, the U.S. Congress paid him a final tribute, dedicating a new veterans' hospital in San Antonio to the memory of this American hero. Survived by widow Pamela, sons Terry and James.

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Birthplace of Audie Murphy TX7821

Most decorated soldier in World War II. Born June 20, 1924, to Emmett and Josie K. Murphy, 400 yards east on the W.F. Boles farm. Enlisted in the Army on his 18th birthday while working in Greenville. He was awarded 24 citations for bravery in action, including Congressional Medal of Honor and French Legion of Honor, Chevalier. After the war, he became a successful actor, with his most prominent role portraying himself in the war film, "To Hell and Back." Died May 28, 1971, in a Virginia plane crash and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

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Robert E. Lee Park TX6759

The land in this area was once part of a Republic land grant awarded to pioneer William Grigsby. The Dallas Consolidated Electric Street Railway Company bought twenty acres of the property in 1903, and in cooperation with developers Oliver P. Bowser and William H. Lemmon built Oak Lawn Park. Weekend visitors and prospective land buyers paid five cents to ride the streetcar to the park, which offered a variety of recreational activities. The City of Dallas purchased the park with its native trees in 1909.

In 1928, the Dallas Southern Memorial Association (DSMA) began plans for the placement of a statue of Robert E. Lee in the park. Executed by Canadian sculptor A. Phimister Proctor, the bronze statue was unveiled on June 12, 1936, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The park's name was changed to Robert E. Lee Park, and two years later, in a cooperative effort by the DSMA, Park and Recreation Board, and the Federal Works Progress Administration, a two-thirds scale replica of Arlington Hall, Robert E. Lee's home in Virginia (now a part of Arlington National Cemetery) was constructed.

Throughout its history, this park has provided a place of recreation and relaxation for Dallas citizens. It remains one of the city's most popular attractions.

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