National Cemetery

On February 5, 2004, RICHARD P. JOHNSON, Retired Col. USMC, beloved husband of Margaret T. "Peg" Johnson, devoted father of Ellen Albertini and Christopher P. Johnson; loving grandfather of Kevin, Kate and Patrick. Family will receive friends on Sunday, 3 to 5 P.M., at HARRY H. WITZKE FAMILY FUNERAL HOME, INC., 4112 Old Columbia Pike, Ellicott City. Memorial Mass Monday, 9:30 AM at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church. Inurnment Arlington National Cemetery - at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Lung Association.

As Americans turn their thoughts toward remembering the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, the Maryland Historical Society opened a poignant exhibit the other day recalling an earlier traumatic event in the nation's history. Remembering Antietam: John Philemon Smith's Shadowbox tells the story of the Battle of Antietam, where 23,000 Union and Confederate troops were either killed or wounded, on another September day, making it the bloodiest 24 hours of the Civil War. The great clash came at Sharpsburg, a small Western Maryland village, when 87,000 federal troops under the command of Gen. George B. McClellan met the Army of Northern Virginia, some 40,000 strong, under the command of Gen. Robert E. Lee. On the evening before the battle, Union Gen. Joseph Hooker, sensing the urgency of the coming battle, said: "We are through for tonight, but tomorrow we fight the battle that will decide the fate of the Republic."

Katharine B. Edwards, who helped families as a volunteer at Arlington National Cemetery, died Dec. 3 at St. Joseph Hospital after suffering a heart attack at her Cockeysville home.Mrs. Edwards, who was 94, had long been a resident of Arlington, Va., before joining her daughter in Cockeysville four years ago.She was one of the original Arlington Ladies, a group that attends funerals at the cemetery either to assist the families or to stand in for those unable to attend.She also did volunteer work at Air Force post chapels and in service organizations.

SHAME. SHAME. SHAME! That's what Republicans in Congress and their co-conspirators on talk radio angrily shouted at the Clinton administration last week. Why, the dastardly cads in the White House had been selling hard-to-come-by burial plots at Arlington National Cemetery -- a military shrine -- to campaign donors!Shame, indeed. But not on President Clinton or Army Secretary Togo D. West, who had done nothing wrong. The shame belongs to those very Republicans who had wrapped themselves in ersatz patriotism to whip up veterans groups against the White House.

On November 12, 2005, JOSEPH E., Ret. US Army E-7, beloved husband of the late Mary Schmidt, devoted father of Steven Schmidt and Nadine Brunner, loving grandfather of David De Falco and Alaina Brunner. Also survived by brothers and sisters in Buffalo NY. Relatives and friends are invited to gather at Charles S. Zeiler & Son Inc., 6224 Eastern Avenue (at Folcroft Street) on Tuesday and Wednesday 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 P.M., with a Christian Wake service on Wednesday at 7:30 P.M. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at Our Lady of Fatima Church on Thursday at 10 A.M. Interment will be held Monday, November 28, 2005 in Arlington National Cemetery (To meet at Administration Building by 10:30 A.M.)

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski and the chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs committee said yesterday that they would push for legislation to close a loophole in a federal law that allowed the killer of a Hagerstown couple to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Mikulski, a Baltimore Democrat, and Republican Sen. Larry E. Craig of Idaho want to amend a 1997 law that was aimed at preventing veterans convicted of serious crimes from being interred at military cemeteries. Craig also said he was introducing a measure that would require the remains of Russell Wayne Wagner to be removed from the Virginia cemetery, site of the grave of former President John F. Kennedy and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

On Friday, May 12, 2006, CLAYTON N. GOMPF, COL., USA (RET) of Fort Belvoir, VA. Beloved husband of Florine A. Gompf; father of Gail Ann Gompf, Alexandria, VA and Clayton N. Jr. (Janet), Findley, OH; brother of Leslie A. Gompf, Greer, SC. Friends may call on Thursday, May 25 from 6 to 9 P.M. at MONEY AND KING FUNERAL HOME, 171 W. Maple Ave., Vienna, VA. Services will be held on Friday, May 26, 2 P.M. at St. John's Episcopal Church, 6715 Georgetown Pike, Mc Lean, VA 22101. Interment Monday, July 10, 3 P.M. at Arlington National Cemetery (Meet at Administration Building at 2:30 P.M.)

Thomas Paul Banz Sr., a Baltimore native and retired salesman, died Friday of complications of a brain tumor at a Cleveland hospice. He was 52 and lived in Westlake, Ohio.Mr. Banz worked for over 30 years in sales and marketing and retired last year for health reasons.The Gardenville native was a 1964 graduate of Mount St. Joseph High School and attended Loyola College. He enlisted in the Army in 1968 and served with the infantry in Vietnam. He was discharged in 1972 with the rank of lieutenant and his decorations included the Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts.

From out of the White House and across snow-covered official Washington last night, you could almost hear the dulcet voice of Bob Sheppard, the Yankees' legendary public-address announcer:"Your attention please, ladies and gentlemen. Now coming to bat in the baseball strike, num-buh one, Bill Clinton, num-buh one."True to his word, the nation's No. 1 fan has thrust himself into the dispute in the absence of a hint of compromise between the equally greedy players and owners. It was indeed a neat double play President Clinton attempted to pull off yesterday, calling as he did for the baseball Bickersons to end their 180-day dispute and the Republican-led Congress to embrace his $1.61-trillion national budget.