Memorial Day 2021: 2 Graves In Vernon Depict Unique Sacrifices

VERNON, CT — Two graves at Vernon's Grove Hill Cemetery serve as a testament this Memorial Day weekend to two residents who gave the last full measure of devotion in different ways.

One stone bears the name of Francis M. Brigham and is accentuated with the propeller-and-wing insignia associated with the United States Army Air Corps during World War II.

Brigham was a 19-year-old technical sergeant with the 320th Bombardment Squardron of the 90th Bombardment Group, the engraving tells us. According to a Vernon Historical Society account, Brigham was one of the first area servicemen killed in action when his plane went down on Jan. 9, 1943 in the South Pacific.

Travis Clark, the cemetery superintendent for the town of Vernon, points out that Brigham was were never found and therefore his remains are not at the gravesite. The burial was ceremonial, he said, to honor Brigham's sacrifice.

A brownstone marker at Grove Hill is the final resting place for Charles E. Dart, a member of the Union Army's 14th Connecticut Volunteers, a unit that experienced significant action during the Civil War.

Dart was 24 in 1862 and was serving as the color bearer for the 14th Connecticut during the intense Battle of Fredericksburg in Virginia. The battle took place from Dec. 11 to Dec. 15 and Dart was mortally wounded in the fight.

He died on April 12, 1862, the gravestone tells us.

Clark says though some restoration took place on the Dart headstone, it's still remarkable that it has remained in good condition because the softness of brownstone makes it susceptible to cracking in an ever-changing climate like the Northeast.