Volunteering: Woodland Cemetery Tours Come Full Circle
At the end of my Civil War-themed tour of Woodland Cemetery, I tell the story of George Damon, a solider in a Vermont regiment who fought in the little-known Breakthrough Battle outside of Petersburg, Viriginia on April 2, 1865. On that day, Damon, and 14,000 other Union soldiers, smashed their way through the Confederate line, ending the 9-month Petersburg campagin, and forcing the Confederates to evacuate Petersburg and Richmond, ultimately leading to the Confederate surrender at Appomattox one week later.
Damon survives the battle and the war, eventually moving to Des Moines, where he dies and is buried in one of the Grand Army of the Republic sections of Woodland Cemetery. There, he is forgotten, his grave unmarked for years, until a volunteer named Mike Rowley secured Damon a military headstone in 2020. Around that same time, I connected with Woodland Cemetery tour guide Archie Cook and inquired about starting my own Civil War-themed tour of Woodland Cemetery. Archie put me in touch with Mike, who shared his database of veteran burials at Woodland, and my Civil War tour was born.
A few weeks ago, I, along with other Woodland Cemetery guides Archie Cook, Kat Rinkin, and Lorna Truck, were honored as “Friends of the Year” for the City of Des Moines Parks and Recreation. I was also honored as a member of the “Volunteer Group of the Year” for supporting the Woodland Cemetery 175th Anniversary Committee, along with Mike Rowley, Kristine Bartley, Justin Allis, and Julie and Bruz Linn. As I reflected on these recognitions, I thought about how I remind participants at the of end each that we are no different than the men and women whose stories I’ve just shared. That we too have the opporutnity to serve our community, just as they did, fortunately in far less dire circumstances. George Damon was just a man who volunteered to make his country better. Mike Rowley, recognized with the “Lifetime Achievement” award by the city, has volunteered countless hours over multiple decades making the Des Moines community better. His service, and Archie’s example, inspired my own service, as well as the Notable Women of Woodland tour developed and delivered by Kat and Lorna.
And that’s the actual reward in all this. That our service can inspire others to do the same. If a man buried in a long-unmarked grave can serve as an inspirtation, surely our own service can too. None of the individuals honored that night faced the dire choice that Damon and his peers faced, but that’s not the point. Choose to do good. That will be enough.
