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  Hank Birdsall
A Place of Honor
I began coming to Greenwood Union Cemetery thirty years ago. This is where my grandfather is buried.
One day, while walking the grounds, I wandered into the African American Cemetary within Greenwood Union Cemetery that was then in noticeable disrepair. As a veteran, I felt compelled to act. I began by placing flags on the graves of fellow veterans. Over time, that effort grew into placing a flag on every marked grave in the section—approximately 145 in total.
 In the years that followed, some of my students joined me each spring before Memorial Day, helping to replace fallen flags and set new ones. Eventually, the Town of Rye restored the African American Cemetary with great care. Now, each year before the town’s Memorial Day ceremony, we return to place new American flags on all of the graves in the African American Cemetary honoring those buried here.
Among them is a veteran who served aboard the USS Monitor. In March of 1862, the Monitor faced the Confederate Merrimack in the first major ironclad naval battle of the Civil War. He was present at that historic moment. Nearby lies another veteran, Endless Hudson of New York.
I visit Greenwood Union Cemetery throughout the year. I find it peaceful. I pray, reflect, straighten flags, and bring new ones when needed. Around Memorial Day, the cemetery is especially beautiful—new green grass, yellow buttercups, and sunlight filtering through the trees. At any hour of the day, the light and stillness of the place invite reflection.
This is our history. We come here to honor the lives of those who have served and sacrificed. As the leaves move in the breeze, there is a sense that the past is close—that these stories are not forgotten.
.jpeg) I do this work quietly, in Jesus’ name, without expectation or recognition. It is simply the right thing to do. Each time I climb over the old stone wall to enter the grounds, I pause and think, I feel as though I have just stepped in and out of Heaven.
Hank Birdsall is a retired U.S. Army Sergeant who served with the 1st and 5th Special Forces Groups. During the Vietnam War, he was assigned to Project Sigma, where he conducted high-risk reconnaissance missions deep behind enemy lines.
Following his military service, Hank and his wife, Isabelle, devoted their lives to education in the Port Chester school system, where they taught for a combined 57 years. Their commitment to students and community earned them Teacher of the Year recognition and the Reggie Hairston Humanitarian Award.
Together, they established a college scholarship fund for Port Chester students and continue to sponsor an annual program honoring local veterans who passed away in the previous year.
February 1, 2026
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Hank Birdsall 
