I N M E M O R I A M
Douglas B. Stuart
John William Restall
Burrus "Buzz" Carnahan
Daniel R. Smith
John M. "Jack" Pearl
Doug Stuart was a member of our Round Table for over 25 years and served as its Treasurer and as a Director. Doug also presented to our group and last spoke about "Northerners Who Went with the South, Southerners Who Stayed with the Union."
Doug was born and raised in a home that predated the Civil War, located in Carlisle, PA, about 30 miles north of Gettysburg. Carlisle was shelled and briefly occupied by the Confederates during the Gettysburg campaign.
Doug's interest in the Civil War stemmed from his visits to the Gettysburg battlefield during his youth and his studies on the subject during his military training. His interest was rekindled when he saw the movie "Gettysburg," which placed faces and personalities on the historical characters involved in the battle.
Doug graduated from the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York, in June 1954 and was commissioned in the Field Artillery. His 27 year career in the U.S. Army included assignments in Germany, Vietnam, and various posts in the Continental United States, including 10 years in Washington, DC.
Doug served as an infantry advisor in combat with the Vietnamese Regional and Popular Forces in the Mekong Delta. His military decorations include the Combat Infantryman's Badge. Doug retired as a Colonel from the Army in 1981.
Col. Stuart wrote about his experience in Vietnam in his work The Fall of Vietnam: A Soldier's Retrospection, in which he reflected upon the war, the military principles demonstrated there, and the reasons for the South Vietnamese failure.
Following his retirement, Doug became a Certified Public Accountant. His postgraduate education included Masters Degrees from Arizona State University (Operations Research/Systems Analysis) and Catholic University of America (Accounting). After serving 3 years with an accounting firm in Washington, DC, he opened his practice in Fort Washington, MD, which he continued to operate for many years.
Doug is survived by his wife of 70 years, the former Emma Robbins of Carlisle, and their two children, a son and a daughter. He will be interred at Arlington National Cemetery.
It is with great sadness that I inform you that our dear friend and long-time member John Restall passed away on October 11. John was a Treasurer, Director, and consummate supporter of our Round Table for many years. True to form, John wanted his situation to be low key, and his family just advised me of his death. His service was held on October 22 at St. John's Episcopal Church, in Arlington, Virginia, where he served as Pledge Clerk.
John and I were roommates on several Civil War battlefield tours, including one to Vicksburg with Ed Bearss as our guide. He was a soft-spoken, kind, and wonderful gentleman, and he loved Civil War history. I am sure he is catching up with a few troops up in heaven to find out more about the real facts of the War.
Please keep John and his family in your thoughts and prayers.
Kurt DeSoto
Source: https://www.moneyandking.com/obituaries/burrus--buzz-carnahan?obid=25931188#/obituartyinfo
Burrus (“Buzz “) Carnahan passed away from complications of pancreatic cancer on Sept 9, 2022. He was an academic and loved sharing his vast knowledge of history and legal scholarship with students, friends, and loved ones. Mr. Carnahan attended Drake University for his Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Political Science and Government, earned a JD from Northwestern University cum laude in Political Science, and earned a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in International Law and Legal Studies from the University of Michigan Law School. Mr. Carnahan was made a member of Phi Beta Kappa on May 4, 1966 while at Drake University.
Mr. Carnahan proudly served in the United States Air Force as a Judge Advocate from 1969 to 1989, specializing in international law and retiring with the rank of Lt. Colonel. His service included a tour of duty as Associate Professor of Law at the US Air Force Academy from 1974-1978. Mr. Carnahan was the first recipient of the Outstanding Academy Educator, receiving this award in 1977, an award that is presented to the Department of Law educator who best embodies the model of Teaching, Service, and Scholarship, from the perspective of both faculty and cadets. This honor is viewed as one of the two highest honors a faculty member can receive while assigned to the Dean of Faculty at USAFA. During his military career, Mr. Carnahan also served in the Air Staff and Joint Staff in the Pentagon, participating in International Negotiations on arms control.
As a civilian he worked for Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) from 1989 until September of 2000 as a Senior Analyst, specializing in nonproliferation and arms control. From September of 2000 until April of 2017, Mr. Carnahan was a Foreign Affairs Officer in the Office of Nuclear Energy, Safety, and Security, US Department of State. In April of 2017, he was awarded along with other members of a team a Certificate of Appreciation from the Department of State for “outstanding contributions…. ensuring that the peaceful use of nuclear energy was conducted according to the highest standards of safety, security, and nonproliferation: and in particular advancing the development, approval and implementation of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s LEU Bank, a Presidential Initiative across two Administrations.”
Mr. Carnahan was the principal researcher on United States legal practice for the International Committee of the Red Cross study on Customary International Humanitarian Law (Cambridge U. Press, 2005), and he was the U.S. correspondent for the Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law.
He dedicated 25 years of teaching service as an Adjunct Professor at the George Washington University (GWU) Law School, recently attending a ceremony at the Law School on May 10, 2022 where he received an “Award for Dedication in Teaching.” He was teaching a course on the Law of War for which he created the syllabus and course materials. Along with another Adjunct Professor, he had previously taught a course on The Law of Non-Proliferation, Counter-Terrorism and Arms Control Law. He was recognized by his colleagues as having made a transformative difference in the legal education of generations of students there. To underscore his passion for teaching, he taught the first class of the new semester on August 30, 2022, just a few days before his surgery on September 2. He wanted to get his students well launched and was looking forward to working with them on their papers. He often spoke about how much he was learning from his students, some of who were serving or having served in areas of combat where the law of war needed to be analyzed real-time in the field. Up until his surgery he was revising his syllabus to reflect the issues raised by the war in Ukraine.
GWU Law School noted that Professor Carnahan gave generously of his time and knowledge to serve as a judge in the international rounds of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, which convened law students from around the world to learn and sharpen their advocacy skills regarding complex questions of international law.
Mr. Carnahan was the author of two books: “Act of Justice: Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation and the Law of War” (2007) and “Lincoln on Trial: Southern Civilians and the Law of War.” (2010) Both books were published by the University Press of Kentucky and analyzed how President Lincoln applied international law precedents to the conduct of the American Civil War. He penned numerous articles on Lincoln and his era, international law, and the law of war. More recently, he was enjoying reviewing new books on Lincoln and his era for many Civil War publications including “Lincoln Lore,” a publication of the Friends of the Lincoln Collection of Indiana.
Mr. Carnahan was a life-time member of the Lincoln Group of DC, having served a term as President and was an enthusiastic member of the monthly book study forum. He was the author of a 2009 pamphlet entitled “The Lincoln Group of the District of Columbia, Guide to Lincoln Sites In and Around Washington, DC.” He was a life-time member of the Lincoln Forum in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, serving for many years on the organization’s Advisory Board and on at least once occasion serving as a moderator on a panel of Civil War historians. He had previously served on the Scholarly Advisory Group for President Lincoln’s Cottage at the Soldiers Home in Washington DC and spoke at one of their first “Cottage Conversations” on the Emancipation Proclamation. A recent treasured memory for Mr. Carnahan (“Gramps”) was showing his grand-daughter Ada the Lincoln Cottage and nurturing her developing interest in history. He enjoyed being a volunteer docent at Historic Blenheim and the Civil War Interpretive Center in Fairfax, Virginia, telling visitors about the lives of the ordinary soldiers who were stationed there during the Civil War. Mr. Carnahan also was one of their monthly speakers.
Additionally, Mr. Carnahan spoke on Lincoln and his era in numerous venues, including the Lincoln Group of DC, the Civil War Round Table of DC, The Abraham Lincoln Institute Symposium at the National Archives in Suitland, Maryland, The Gettysburg College Civil War Institute, the Filson Historical Society, Louisville, Kentucky, The Treasury Historical Society in Washington, DC, Antietam National Battlefield, Maryland, Robert Todd Lincoln’s Hildene house museum in Manchester Vermont, and the Cosmos Club.
He created a talk for the Vienna Woman’s Club entitled “The Gray Ghost and the White Whale” about Herman Melville’s visit to the Vienna, Virginia area during the Civil War and the search for the elusive John Mosby. Of note, was a walking tour he developed several years ago for Cultural Tourism DC of “Lincoln and the Civil War in Foggy Bottom.” This tour focused on little-known historic sites associated with Lincoln and members of his cabinet in the Foggy Bottom area of DC. One of the out-of-town tour participants wrote to Mr. Carnahan on May 18, 2012, stating: “History is everywhere in DC if you just know where to look and have a great guide like Buzz.” Mr. Carnahan’s avid scholarly interests were not limited to the Civil War. He had studied Roman Jurisprudence, and visited many Pre-Columbian archeological sites as well as significant sites in Greece and Turkey in particular.
Mr. Carnahan had a deep love of animals, especially cats. He was generous to various humane societies and adopted one of his most notable cats, Tacitus, from the Fairfax County Animal Shelter. The last visit Mr. Carnahan made to the Shelter was to a recent event promoting adoption of the “smalls” such as rabbits and guinea pigs. He came close to bringing home a young guinea pig, but knew that his cat Blackie (adopted from the Humane Society of Fairfax County) would lodge a vociferous veto. Many years ago, Mr. Carnahan was asked by the editor of “Kind News”, a newsletter for children then published by the Humane Society of the United States, to edit a short word puzzle about Abraham Lincoln’s kindness to animals. Mr. Carnahan admired Lincoln’s compassion for animals as a young boy growing up on the frontier; for his intervening to prevent cruelty to turtles and other creatures.
He had a delightful, if not a touch acerbic Irish wit that will live on in his family. He is survived by his wife of 22 years, Lucinda (Cindy) Stewart, his children, Dr. Jennifer Carnahan (Julia VanDeren) and Ms. Erin Belenky, his granddaughter, Ms. Ada Carnahan-VanDeren, and his cat, Blackie. He is also survived by Mr. Carnahan’s first wife, Cheryl (Kay) Carnahan, mother of Jennifer and Erin and grand-mother of Ada, with whom Mr. Carnahan and Cindy shared recent happy family gatherings.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Mr. Carnahan’s memory to any one of the following: The Lincoln Group of the District of Columbia(www.lincolnian.org), The Civil War Round Table of the District of Columbia (www.cwrtdc.org), the Lincoln Forum (www.thelincolnforum.org), President Lincoln’s Cottage (www.lincolncottage.org), Historic Blenheim (www.fairfaxva.gov), The Friends of the Fairfax County Animal Shelter (www.ffcas.org) and the Humane Society of Fairfax County (www.hsfc.org).
Also see https://www.lincolnian.org/post/on-the-passing-of-buzz-carnahan (by David J. Kent, President of teh Lincoln Grouip of theDistrict of Columbia)
Reprinted from: https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/washingtonpost/name/daniel-smith-obituary?id=36903394
Daniel R. "Dan" Smith, Sr., likely the last living person born to a Black man enslaved during the Civil War, died October 19, 2022, at Sibley Hospital in Washington, DC. He is proof that slavery is not distant history. His father, Abram (A.B.) Smith, was 70 years old when Dan was born in Winsted, Conn., on March 11, 1932; his mother, Clara Wheeler Smith, was 23. Dan's grandparents, William and Augusta Smith, were in bondage in the Massies Mill district of Nelson County, VA.
Dan was the second youngest of his siblings Marion, Abram (Abe), Jenny, Henrietta (Hennie), and Margaret. Dan was six years old when his father, a janitor, was hit by a car and died, leaving Dan's mother penniless. Despite acute poverty, the family stayed together, and the children each achieved success in their lives. Dan's life was depicted in two Washington Post articles: in 2020 by Sydney Trent (which spawned many articles and TV/radio interviews) and in an obituary on October 21, 2022 by Harrison Smith: https://wapo.st/3Smkr8m.
These stories highlighted Dan's remarkable life and his strength of character, courage, fortitude, resilience, and dignity – traits he attributed to his father, who told him, "We survived the ships. You are strong, and don't ever forget it!" Dan rose up again and again, starting as a Black child in the largely white town of Winsted, working with a veterinarian in high school, serving as a medic in the US Army in Korea; diving into a hurricane-swollen river to rescue a man; being elected student council president at the largely white Springfield College; becoming a social worker; participating in Martin Luther King's 1963 March on Washington; and attending veterinary school at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. He left school to direct a federal anti-poverty program in Lowndes County, AL, during the height of the Civil Rights Movement, nearly losing his life to KKK night riders; was on one of the Selma-to-Montgomery marches; and moved to Washington to develop Neighborhood Health Centers nationwide.
Dan always felt that his major accomplishment was starting, in 1972, a new $60-million program for the National Institutes of Health, the Area Health Education Centers (AHEC), to train primary care physicians to work in underserved areas. Despite his success in implementing it, he faced acute discrimination and possible demotion. Dan fought back, and with pro bono help from a major law firm, Wilmer Cutler Pickering (now WilmerHale), he kept the position and was even promoted. Afterwards, he helped develop emergency medical services in Lebanon, Morocco, and Saudi Arabia, and he attended Bishop Desmond Tutu's installation as the first Black Archbishop of South Africa. After retiring in 1994, Dan helped launch the Korean War Memorial and became Head Usher at the Washington National Cathedral, escorting Presidents Bush (both of them), Clinton, and Obama. In 2006 Dan married Loretta Neumann at the Cathedral, and they have lived in DC's Takoma neighborhood.
Dan is survived by his wife Loretta and children from his first marriage with Sandra Hawkins (Bjork): Daniel R. (Rob) Smith, Jr. of New York; daughter April (Smith) Motaung, her husband Andrew and their daughter, Tselane Motaung of Columbia, MD.
A Requiem Mass for Dan was held on October 29, 2022, at Trinity Episcopal Church, 7005 Piney Branch Rd. NW, Washington, DC, and the interment occurred at Congressional Cemetery.
Because of Dan's love of animals, the family requests that donations in his name be made to one of two nonprofit organizations: Humane Rescue Alliance (in Dan's neighborhood, it serves as the District's public animal shelter) at www.humanerescuealliance.org or Fidos for Freedom (provides trained hearing dogs, service dogs, combat-related PTSD dogs, and therapy dogs in the Baltimore-Washington area) at www.fidosforfreedom.org
Dan's memoir, Son of a Slave: A Black Man's Journey in White America, will be at Politics and Prose bookstore in early November. Preorders are available online at www.politics-prose.com/book/9781624294273.
John M. "Jack" Pearl was born and raised in Norwalk, CT. After high school graduation he headed off to Penn State, his father’s alma mater, and enrolled in the Navy ROTC program. He graduated with a BS in Physics in January 1961 and was commissioned an Ensign in the United States Navy as a Surface Warfare Officer.
Jack's first tours of duty were out of Newport, RI, then Charleston, SC, and finally Bahrain. He was assigned to Destroyers and Minesweepers and served as a Chief Engineer, Navigator, Executive Officer, and Admiral's Aide and Flag Secretary to the Commander of the Middle East Force. During these tours he rose from Ensign to Lieutenant JG and then to Lieutenant.
In 1969, after eight years at sea, Jack came to Washington, DC to work at the
Bureau of Naval Personnel as a Program Manager. He rose to the rank of
Lieutenant Commander and started a Masters Program at George Washington
University in Computer Systems Management.
In January of 1970, Jack met Susan, literally “the girl next door," at her
wine and cheese party. For the next year he combined time spent with Susan and
time studying for his Masters. In early 1971, he received orders for a
year in Vietnamese Language School to be followed by a tour in Viet Nam.
Talking with a friend in mid-March 1971, Jack mentioned he’d like to get married
at Bolling Air Force Base and the friend immediately replied he better get to
Bolling right away to reserve the Chapel and the Officers Club for the
reception. He hurried over and reserved them both. After a lovely dinner
at 1789 in Georgetown, he proposed to Susan, saying, “I love you very
much. Will you marry me at 1:00pm on April 24th at Bolling.” She said
YES. He then explained, there was not much time until he had to start
Vietnamese Language School and a friend said he had to reserve the Chapel
quickly, so that’s what he did! The wedding was just what they
wanted. In June he received his Masters degree too!
In March of 1972, Jack left for a
year in Saigon as a member of the Naval Advisory Group to Viet Nam. Susan
met him in September for an R&R in Hawaii and he returned home safely in
February 1973. Soon after they were headed to Long Beach, CA where Jack
was the Executive Officer on two destroyers. While there, their precious
daughter, Shelby, was born.
Jack, Susan and Shelby soon moved to Vienna, VA and was assigned to the Pentagon with the Joint
Chiefs of Staff and the Navy Staff. Their beloved son, Michael, was
born in 1976. Jack was promoted to Commander in 1978.
Exciting
times lay ahead when the family moved in May of 1980 to Mons, Belgium, to
the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), the military side of
NATO. It was a wonderful five years and they saw most of Western Europe and
some of the Eastern side behind the Iron Curtain.
Returning
to Vienna, VA in October 1985, Jack began his final tour of
duty with the Defense Mapping Agency. Jack retired from the
US Navy in April 1987 after 26 years of service. He then continued
working with the mapping agency for 13 more years.
With the kids in college in the mid-90s,
Susan and Jack started their myriad voyages by land, sea, and air to six of the
seven continents. They loved seeing the
world’s many cultures, traditions and history.