Sleeping Lady Chapter, NSDAR

08/06/2026

They are still identifying our WWII heroes.

US Army Technician 5th Grade William P. Keele, 24, who was captured and died as a prisoner of war during World War II, was accounted for Jan. 5, 2026, and his remains arrived home to Arkansas yesterday: https://youtu.be/cZaz0_2ORZc?si=-IzAWDJ-FyaZh4aw

William was a member of the 33d Quartermaster Truck Regiment (QM Truck Regt), Philippine Department, when Japanese forces invaded the Philippine Islands in December 1941. Intense fighting continued until the surrender of the Bataan peninsula on April 9, 1942, and of Corregidor Island on May 6, 1942.

William was among those captured when US forces in Bataan surrendered to the Japanese. They were subjected to the 65-mile Bataan Death March and held at the Cabanatuan POW camp, where more than 2,500 POWs died during the war.

William died July 16, 1942, and was buried along with other deceased prisoners in the local Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery in Common Grave 316.

In 2019, as part of the Cabanatuan Project, the unidentified remains associated with Common Grave 316 were sent to the DPAA laboratory for scientific analysis, leading to William's identification.

Funeral services were held yesterday in Greenwood, Arkanasas, and his burial will take place on Friday at the Fort Smith National Cemetery.

More information: https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/ID-Announcements/Article/4465463/soldier-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-keele-w/

📷: Nurses Honor Guard of the River Valley Community Page https://www.facebook.com/groups/724270758786570/posts/1730308308182805/

08/05/2026

Historical preservation project in Alaska.

Office of History and Archeology: Help Save The Tolovana Roadhouse!

The Tolovana Roadhouse is one of the original roadhouses along the Nenana-Nome mail route and was built in 1924. The Roadhouse was the first stop for the 1925 Serum Run to Nome and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

Visitors can stay at the roadhouse and can travel there by snowmachine, dog team, and cross-country skiing in the winter. The roadhouse is accessible by boat in the summer.

Today, the Roadhouse is under immediate threat of destruction from erosion on the Tanana River. Almost all the sill logs will need to be replaced, and significant work done to stabilize the floor before the Roadhouse can be relocated back from the water.

To learn about the efforts being made to save the roadhouse please visit https://tolovanaroadhouse.com

08/04/2026

Happy Birthday to our Coast Guard!

08/03/2026

250 years ago today, 3 August 1776, Revolutionary War Patriot, Joseph Parker, enlisted in the Independent Rifle Company commanded by Captain William Blackwell of the 11th Virginia Regiment of the Continental Army.

Joseph was made a Corporal and served in the company until May 1777. When at Middlebrook, New Jersey, he was selected for General Washington’s Life Guard. General Washington’s order for the men of Life Guard: "His Excellency depends upon the Colonels for good Men, such as they can recommend for their sobriety, honesty and good behavior; he wishes them to be from five feet eight Inches high, to five feet ten Inches; handsomely and well made, and as there is nothing in his eyes more desirable than Cleanliness in a Soldier, he desires that particular attention be made in the choice of such men as are clean and spruce."

Joseph Parker served in Washington’s Life Guard until the end of his three-year enlistment. Under the command of Captain Caleb Gibbs, the Life Guard’s mission was to protect General Washington, the army’s cash and official papers. It is believed that the Life Guard was dress in blue and buff uniforms with leather helmets adorned with medium blue cloth binding and a white plume tipped in blue, placed on the left side of the helmet. Notably, the uniform buttons did not have the regimental number on them, but “USA”, the first known record of the cipher being employed. The unit’s moto was “Conquer or Die”.

The Life Guard wintered at Valley Forge, PA. In the spring, the Life Guard was selected to be trained by General Frederick von Stueben in professional and military standards. The Life Guard then trained units of the Continental Army, demonstrating the methods and principles they had learned.

The Life Guard was frequently employed in the role of light infantry and attached to larger military units for engagements. During this time in the war, Joseph was in the battles of Brandywine, PA, Germantown, PA, Monmouth, NJ and several skirmishes.

Having fulfilled his enlistment term, Joseph Parker was discharged at West Point, N.Y. on August 3, 1779.

After the war, Joseph was issued Revolutionary War Land Warrant for 200 acres of Kentucky land for his service dated September 30, 1783.

Joseph was born March 25, 1756 in Fauquier County, VA to Thomas Parker and Catherine Martin. He died near Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. Sept. 18, 1821. Although the location of his final resting place is not known, on Oct. 16, 2010, The Sons of the American Revolution honored his service by placing a bronze marker in his memory at the Salt River Church Cemetery.

08/03/2026

250 years ago today, August 2, 1776, the Declaration of Independence as we know it—a large piece of parchment with handwritten text and signatures at the bottom—came to be.

Through the month of July 1776, Congress decided to make a more permanent copy of the Declaration. They ordered a large piece of parchment, or treated animal skin, and asked Timothy Matlack, clerk to the secretary of the Second Continental Congress, to write the text of the document on it. The engrossed copy of the Declaration (an official document written in a large hand) was ready to be signed on August 2. The delegates who were still in Philadelphia assembled at the State House—now called Independence Hall—and signed the parchment. Several added their signatures later.

Ultimately, 56 men signed the engrossed copy, which was then rolled and stored with the papers of Congress. Their names would not be known publicly until January 1777, when Mary Katherine Goddard printed a broadside of the Declaration listing the names of almost all the signers (except for Thomas McKean of Delaware, who hadn’t signed yet).

Today the engrossed copy of the Declaration is preserved at the National Archives.

08/02/2026

NATIONAL LIPSTICK DAY! - July 29th
FROM THE MILITARY WOMEN'S MEMORIAL COLLECTION

You never know what you are going to find when renovating. The Tinsley family of Grand Junction, Colorado, was renovating a former Italian grocery store (circa 1909 to 1963) when they found a tube of lipstick in the ceiling. It wasn't just any lipstick, but Elizabeth Arden’s 1941 “Victory Red.” After learning of its significance, the Tinsleys chose to donate their discovery to the Military Women’s Memorial!

During World War II, bright red lipstick became a symbol of patriotism and an expression of strength and confidence, especially given Hitler’s reported hatred of red lipstick and makeup. Spurred on by the US Committee on Military-Industrial Production, which declared that cosmetics “are not just necessary, but also vital”, cosmetic companies stepped up production of red lipstick. One such company, Elizabeth Arden, was approached by the Marine Corps to produce a lipstick for Women Marines.

The result was “Montezuma Red:” which matched the hat cord, scarf and sleeve chevrons of their uniform. “Victory Red” was the civilian version. Other companies joined in with lipsticks named Regimental Red, Fighting Red, Rocket Red, Patriot Red, and Grenadier Red. “It was patriotism you could carry in your purse,” as Ilise S. Carter wrote in her book, "The Red Menace: How Lipstick Changed the Face of American History."

08/02/2026

August 2, 1776 — Signing the Declaration: Pledging Their Lives, Their Fortunes, and Their Sacred Honor

Two hundred and fifty years ago today, members of the Second Continental Congress began signing the engrossed parchment copy of the Declaration of Independence, transforming their vote for independence into a personal pledge before the world.

Congress had approved the Declaration on July 4, and printed copies had already spread throughout the colonies and the Continental Army. But the official parchment copy—carefully engrossed by Timothy Matlack—was now ready for signatures.

Congress President John Hancock stepped forward first, placing his name in large, bold script beneath the text. One by one, the delegates followed, signing in columns generally arranged from north to south, beginning with New Hampshire and ending with Georgia.

Not every delegate signed that day. Some were absent on congressional business, while others had not yet taken their seats. Several signatures were added over the following weeks and months. But August 2 marked the beginning of the act that forever linked these men to the cause of American independence.

By signing, they did far more than approve a political document. They openly declared themselves traitors in the eyes of the British Crown. If captured, they risked imprisonment, the loss of their property, or death. Their signatures gave tangible meaning to the Declaration’s closing pledge: “we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.” Drafted primarily by Thomas Jefferson and adopted by Congress, those words were no longer simply an aspiration. On August 2, 1776, they became a personal commitment written in ink by the men who chose to stake everything on American independence.

And that’s the way it was, August 2, 1776.

07/31/2026

✨This may be the most influential piece of propaganda in American history.✨

At first glance, it looks like British soldiers deliberately lined up and executed innocent colonists. And that was exactly the point. After the Boston Massacre on March 5, 1770, patriot leaders knew facts alone wouldn't unite the colonies. Just three weeks later, Paul Revere published The Bloody Massacre - an engraving that spread from colony to colony faster than almost any news of its day.

The image tells a powerful story.

British soldiers stand in perfect formation, firing on defenseless civilians. Their commanding officer appears to order the attack. A church steeple rises in the background, while the Customs House bears the ironic sign "Butcher's Hall." The real event was far more chaotic - the confrontation began after a crowd surrounded a small group of British soldiers, hurling insults, snowballs, ice, and clubs. Amid the confusion, shots were fired. Five colonists died.

Revere's engraving wasn't intended to be an objective record, it was designed to shape public opinion and it worked The image became one of the defining pieces of Revolutionary propaganda, helping transform local outrage into a shared cause that united the colonies.

👉 More than a century later, one remarkable woman helped ensure Americans would still be able to see this image.

Margaret Olivia Slocum Sage, a proud member of DAR, presented one of the finest surviving hand-colored copies to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Mrs. Sage was one of America's greatest philanthropists, establishing the Russell Sage Foundation with a $10 million gift to improve education, research, and the lives of Americans. She also championed historic preservation, supported Appalachian schools, assisted immigrant initiatives, and helped preserve important Revolutionary sites.

Preserving history isn't about preserving myths. It's about preserving the evidence even when it challenges us. 250 years later, The Bloody Massacre still asks an important question - How much does the image we see shape the story we believe?

07/31/2026

Dedicated to more than 41 million men and women who have served in the armed forces, USAA officially unveiled the National Military Monument on the National Mall.

“Every name represents a life. Every life represents a story, a family, a sacrifice. Together, those millions of stories become the flags they serve, because our flag has always been more than cloth or color. It has represented people, people who choose service over self,” USAA CEO Juan Andrade said.

Check it out:
https://www.stripes.com/theaters/us/2026-07-29/national-military-memorial-unveiling-22401511.html

07/29/2026