MOUNT CARMEL - James A. Garfield Camp 34, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil, elected officers for 2014 at a meeting Nov. 13.
Elected were David Berezovske, commander; William Beaumont, senior vice commander; Bruce Petro, junior vice president; J. Kevin Jones, Mark Kline and Walter Watkins IV, council; Hugh Jones, secretary and treasurer; William Van Stone Sr., patriotic instructor; Harry White Jr., memorials officer; Ray Rothermel, Civil War memorials officer; J. Kevin Jones, Eagle Scout coordinator, and Hugh Jones, graves registration officer and historian.
Meetings in 2014 will be held March 12, May 14, Sept. 10 and Nov. 12. The camp meets at 7:30 p.m. at the Lithuanian Social Club.
Perpetuating the memory of the Grand Army of the Republic and the men who saved the Union from 1861 ro 1865, Garfield Camp is the oldest veteran-affiliated organization in Mount Carmel. It was organized May 9, 1883, and chartered Aug. 9 of that year.
Each year for the Memorial Day holiday, the camp decorates the graves of 166 Civil War veterans buried in Mount Carmel, St. Mary, Oak Hill and St. Joseph (Locust Gap) cemeteries. Males descendants 14 years and over who can trace their lineage to an ancestor who served in the Union during the Civil War ot those who do not have lineage but meet all other requirements are eligible to join.
The camp is a member of the Mount Carmel Area Joint Veterans Committee.