Saving Hallowed Ground

05/29/2026

05/25/2026

Lest we forget

05/24/2026

This Memorial Day, we remember the seven alumnae of the United States Naval Academy who served with dignity and made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation.

-Cynthia S. Grubbs, LTJG, USN, Class of 1980
-Cary P. Jones, ENS, USN, Class of 1981
-Megan M McClung, MAJ, USMCR, Class of 1995
-Terri S. Fussner, LT, USN, Class of 1996
-Jennifer J. Harris, CAPT, USMC, Class of 2000
-Elizabeth R. Kealey, MAJ, USMC, Class of 2005
-Valerie C. Delaney, LT, USN, Class of 2009

They were pioneers of courage, women of strength, and protectors of liberty. We say their names and share their faces and stories to ensure that their devotion to duty remains etched on our hearts.

These women were honored at the USNA Women 50 Year Celebration in a memorial service for all 77 alumnae who have died. You may access the memorial service recording below:

🔗Memorial Service Recording: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nh153wZ5iwK23gYY-FqToXdBeJbtKAR_/view?usp=sharing

🔗To see the Memorial Service Program and Memorial Photo Gallery visit: https://myusna.com/topics/9176/news/11525022

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yoIaVDCjVfZZyW3yYtpJa_IS7yJos0xr/view?usp=drivesdk

Virtual Memorial Hall entries: https://www.usnamemorialhall.org/index.php/Category:Woman

Stronger Together💪.

05/23/2026

Lest we forget, Memorial Day is a time to honor the brave heroes who sacrificed everything for our freedom. Their courage, service, and love for their country will never be forgotten.

05/09/2026

On May 2, 2026, more than 80 years after his death in World War II, Medal of Honor Recipient Army Capt. Willibald C. Bianchi was finally brought home and laid to rest alongside his family in his hometown of New Ulm, Minnesota.

A Soldier of extraordinary courage, Bianchi repeatedly exposed himself to enemy fire during the Battle of Bataan, continuing to lead and fight even after being severely wounded multiple times. After the fall of the Philippines, he endured the horrors of the Bataan Death March and years as a prisoner of war, continually caring for and encouraging fellow prisoners in the darkest of conditions.

In 2025, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency identified his remains more than eight decades after his death aboard the Enoura Maru in January 1945.

His story is a reminder that service, sacrifice, and courage are never forgotten. We honor Capt. Bianchi and all those still unaccounted for who gave so much in defense of our nation.

05/06/2026

Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) personnel disinterred eight caskets from the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific on May 4 in support of ongoing World War II recovery operations. Each transfer is conducted with the utmost care and respect, honoring those who never returned home.

The remains were then moved to the Daniel K. Inouye DPAA Center of Excellence, where forensic specialists will begin the meticulous scientific analysis that makes identification possible. This mission underscores DPAA’s continued dedication to accounting for the approximately 71,764 U.S. personnel still unaccounted for from World War II.

03/04/2026

Today is the 161st anniversary of the second inauguration of President Abraham Lincoln. A momentous occasion in American history, no American President had run successfully for a second term since Andrew Jackson, 32 years earlier. What made it even more incredible was that Lincoln won reelection during a catastrophic Civil War.

When Lincoln delivered his Second Inaugural Address, victory for the Union was all but assured. The President could have stood victorious before the country, but Lincoln declined to boast or celebrate. Though the day began rainy and gray, witnesses recalled that the sun broke over the crowd just as Lincoln began to speak. In a relatively short speech, he explored the causes of the Civil War and laid the blame on the doorstep of slavery. As he reached the end, Lincoln called for peace and unity: “With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”

Despite President Lincoln’s unifying message, not everyone took it to heart. In the audience not far from Lincoln that day was actor John Wilkes Booth. He would not try to understand the rebirth of freedom that was happening in country. Just 41 days, later Booth cowardly shot Lincoln in the back of the head while he was watching a play with his wife.

The inspiring legacy of Abraham Lincoln lives on at the Lincoln Memorial. Inside the chamber, carved into the north wall, visitors can read the Second Inaugural Address and remember the common man from humble beginnings who became one of our greatest presidents.

03/02/2026

From the Revolutionary War to today’s Armed Forces, women have served our nation with courage and commitment for 250 years.

Join us in honoring their service and sacrifice to America during Women’s History Month.

02/25/2026

Congrats to legendary Navy pilot Royce Williams, who received the Medal of Honor tonight at the State of the Union.

Back in the Korean War, this hero took on a swarm of Soviet MiG fighters in a classified dogfight, downing four of them single-handedly while flying his F9F Panther.

His exploits were kept secret for decades due to Cold War tensions, but now he's finally receiving his well earned recognition.

What an incredible story of heroic bravery and service!

01/19/2026

Saving Hallowed Ground is honored to have created the Delaware County Heritage Trail project to support America 250 PA DELCO