In Honor of Those Who Serve.

When my great grandmother Mary Keller Gallagher was alive, she visited Bethany German Lutheran Cemetery each and every Memorial Day in honor of her father, my great great grandfather, John G. Keller. John G. Keller was a German Immigrant who came to this country with his parents, Jacob & Susannah Keller and two brothers, older brother Jacob, and younger brother Frederick. He served in the Civil War and was present at the Battle of Gettysburg. He died in 1897. In the earlier part of the 20th Century, this tiny backyard cemetery was the site of a yearly Memorial Day Celebration complete with a Honor Guard. My grandmother, Anna Marie McCaffery Gallagher began attending these celebrations with her mother-in-law after the marriage to her son, my grandfather, William Joseph Gallagher II.

I remember my grandmother telling me stories of how loyal our family was to the military. Case in point, I was born into a very military patriotic family. Most of the males in my family served our country. There is not a war where at least one of them served their country. As a child growing up, I remember my grandfather stating he lived by the code; God, Country and Family. Recently, I discovered I had at least 80 family members interred in this grave yard. It is difficult for me to wrap my head around that simple fact. The entire cemetery is the total sum of a regular size backyard in this Manayunk neighborhood. Today, I kept with tradition and visited the cemetery. As you can see in the above photograph, the flags fly proudly. To all who have served and are still serving, I applaud you because without your sacrifice, we who live in this country would not have the taste of freedom, we often take for granted. After I visited the cemetery, I took notice of a sign outside of Bethany German Lutheran Church which is located up the street from the graveyard. The sign said, "every one is welcome to worship". Since the doors were open, I walked inside and attended the 10am service. I sat in the same church my ancestors once worship. What a serene feeling.