Honoring Family Who Served ...

I am a planner, and this can be good, or it could drive me crazy. 

When I started adding names to my genealogy database, I didn't have a plan.    Right now I add photos and keywords to a person's file.  Was I consistent with doing this?  Nope.

So, today, as I was clipping obituary notices from the paper for a local historical society, I noticed that the deceased who served in the military had a flag added to their obituary.  A light bulb went off.  Now, I wonder, why not add a flag image, for instance, to the photo records for those who served in the military and a cross for those who joined a religious order.  Great idea, right?  I want to start gathering these images to place them into a file. Then as I go back through my database, I can add the appropriate image to the ancestoral files. 

I am not a history buff when it comes to military history I am illiterate. I Googled this but got more and more confuse.  Sure doesn't take much to confuse me!  So, I have questions for my genealogy friends.

• Is there a specific marker for people who served in the various wars and battles?  I found ancestors who fought in the Civil War, Revolutionary War, the Battle of North Point in Maryland, WWI and WWII, Vietnam, etc. 
• For WWI and WWII I had planned on using the American flag.  Is there another image for each war that I should use?
• Are these markers of standard design no matter what state the person lived in?  I live in Pennsylvania and live close to the Maryland border where some of the ancestors may have lived at the time.

In the long run, I can visualize my pedigree chart with these impressive images.  In this day and age of information overload, scanning prefaces reading.  Having these images appear first on a pedigree chart would allow for seeing and appreciating our ancestors at a quick glance. 

Has anyone already done this to their database?  I would love hearing from you, if you did.  Thanks and have a great research day.

There is no such thing as useless information!

In a few days my home office will be invaded by two of my four grandsons, and they are at that age where curiosity can get the best of them.  So, I am on a mission to scan my loose photos and file them away, not to mention straightening up the piles of papers laying all over my desk!

The photo to the right is of my father-in-law, taken when serving overseas during WWII.  There are words on the back that I need help with.  Googling didn't help, so I am hoping some genealogy historians may shed some light on the words.  The words written are, The Bellig.  That is it.  Any idea what this means?  Would this be a location in France?  I believe that he was stationed there. 

He also looks like he is standing in front of a back drop of some kind.  As always, I look forward to your comments on what I am looking at. 

May all of you have a very blessed and Happy Thanksgiving.