Re: Civil War - The Iron Cross

Date: June 12, 2004

"Veteran's grave marked with Iron Cross
By Cindy Corell/staff

ccorell@newsleader.com NEWPORT -- Thomas Martin Rosen enlisted in the Confederate army when he was 19 years old and served until he was paroled as a prisoner of war in 1865.

He came home and raised his family, worked as a carpenter and tried to forget about what he'd seen. As a war veteran, he collected a small pension from the state of Virginia, but he kept those few dollars in a tattered billfold.

On occasion he'd ask his grandson Irvin to count the money.

Thursday, Irvin Rosen brought the billfold and his memories of his grandfather to Mount Herman Lutheran Church cemetery. When Thomas Rosen was buried there in 1931, there was no mention at the grave that he served the Confederacy, and 73 years later, his grandson wanted to change that.

Relatives from as far away as Indianapolis gathered as representatives of the United Daughters of the Confederacy dedicated an Iron Cross that was placed as Thomas Rosen's grave.

Still spry, wearing suspenders, dress clothes and a straw hat, Irvin Rosen greeted each one attending the service. He spent time talking to a cousin, Evelyn Rosen, 96, who sat protected from the hot sun by an umbrella. He brought copies of a picture of his grandfather to hand out.

"I have been looking forward to this day for a long, long time," he told the gathered crowd.

"Grandpa was born about four miles away from here in that direction," Rosen said, "over at Wade's Mill. He was a member of this church that was here. He helped build it."

Thomas Rosen died in 1931 at his son's home at McKinley. He'd moved in with that family when Irvin was 3.

"He used to play with me just like he was a child," Irvin said. "Everything he did, I tried to do. I walked like him. I talked like him."

And 73 years after his grandfather died, Rosen is still telling the old man's stories.

"He swam the Shenandoah River. I think it was February," Rosen said. "Grandpa had his hat shot off one time. He said they were marching along, and he just reached down and picked it back up."

The elder Rosen didn't like to talk about the war much, Irvin Rosen said. "He'd talk to me a little, but not much."

Not far from where he was buried lies the grave of Christopher Runkle who also served in the 5th Virginia Regiment. Runkle died six months after Rosen.

"They were both veterans," Irvin Rosen said. "They used to talk about it some."

History of Iron Cross
Descendants of Confederate veterans can order the Iron Cross to mark the veteran's grave by contacting the United Daughters of the Confederacy. Inquiries can be made through the Turner Ashby Chapter 162, UDC, 1363 Scenic Highway, Churchville, VA 24421.

©2004 The News Leader"