Forgotten war heroes from 3 conflicts honored in Canfield

By Sean Barron

Mahoning Valley RESIDENTS who served in wars throughout this country’s history came from varying backgrounds and walks of life, yet little is known about many.

A large number of local military personnel have been dead for decades and have no remaining family or friends, both of which makes it easy for them to slip into obscurity.

Nevertheless, that should not diminish the importance of their contributions — or being remembered for their valor and sacrifices.

That was a main theme espoused during Sunday’s 11th annual “Forgotten Heroes” program at the Canfield Cemetery on U.S. Route 224. Special honor also was given to two local Civil War re-enactors who died this year.

Area historians and war re-enactors narrated the lives of four Canfield natives buried at the cemetery during the hourlong program, which also paid homage to their achievements on and off the battlefield.

The four are James M. Nash and James M. Park, both Civil War veterans; Harry S. Manchester, who served during World War I; and Kenneth H. Evans, who fought in WWII.

“They’re more than a name on a headstone. They were human beings with families” who made the ultimate sacrifice serving their country, said Capt. David Frank, a member of the 19th Ohio Company B regimen.

Narrating Park’s life was local historian Steffan Jones, who noted that Park enlisted Aug. 11, 1862, with the 105th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He was captured twice but escaped the second time, Jones said.

After the war, Park, who was born near Dublin, Ireland, and came to the area as a child, returned to the Canfield farm where he had spent many years, Jones told his audience of a few dozen.

When Park died in 1940 in Salem Clinic Hospital at age 98, he was thought to have been the oldest man in Mahoning County, according to his obituary.

Frank outlined the life of Nash, who moved to Canfield from Cleveland after having been an apprentice and reporter for The Plain Dealer. He was sent to Canfield as a reporter and went on to help found the Youngstown Tribune, which became the Youngstown Telegram, Frank noted.

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