Guest Column: The Grand Army of the Republic: Honoring the Civil War veterans

Before our V.F.W. (Veterans of Foreign Wars) and V.A. (Veterans Administration) and American Legion, there was an organization called G.A.R. which stands for Grand Army of the Republic. It was a fraternal organization made up of American Union soldiers and sailors who served in our Civil War. There had been earlier groups focusing on advocating for American war survivors and their families. It seems like as soon as any conflict is over, the general public…