I was so intrigued to see the project that my 4x cousin Joel’s wife, Peggy Davis Reeves of Williamsburg, Virginia, undertook. Joel, who is descended from Boudewijn DeKorne (1816-1875) as I am, wrote, “Peggy decided to do a research project on family members that served in the military. She called this ‘My Family Heroes’ and collected information on 100 individuals that represent the period from 1746 (Virginia Militia) to 2020 (West Point graduate). This represents only a small sample of the number of our relatives that have served in the military.”
Peggy first spent six months doing the research through Ancestry and Fold3. Joel sums it up this way: “She learned a lot about these brave individuals. Some families were divided during the Civil War – 2 brothers on the Union side and 3 brothers on the Confederate side. A set of twin brothers enlisted together. Other were prisoners of war, wounded or lost their lives. Some died of disease, such as bronchitis or rubella. Some won medals of honor, such as the Purple Heart, Bronze Star, and Oak Leaf Cluster. Other received land grants for their service. All these individuals took a stand to join the military to serve their country in war time and peace. We are proud of these service men and women that protect this country and our freedom. This is our way of saying thanks to all of them on this Veterans Day.”
When she was ready to create the ornaments, Peggy used Dollar Store plexiglass magnetic refrigerator frames and removed the magnets from the back. Then she set up a template in Photoshop with a red-white-blue border and added an image of the individual or tomb stone or flag on one side and military information on the person on the other side.
Charles is the husband of my first cousin three times removed
After getting the pictures printed, she added a ribbon bow which varies by when the individual served or the branch of service. I particularly love that special touch. Peggy also created a Shutterfly book so that the family would have access to this wonderful work throughout the year.
I love the anchors on the ribbon for those that served in the Navy.
Isn’t this inspirational? What a great way to honor the military members of our genealogy family trees! Thinking of making a tree like this? If you have done a lot of research on your ancestors who were in the military you might be able to pull together at least a small tree by Christmas. If not, you can do what Peggy did and take a year to do the research and create the tree.
Peggy, thank you for letting me share your inventiveness and hard work.
The Family Kalamazoo 
What a great idea!
Joy, I knew you would love it!!!
Yes, and I’ve shared it on Twitter!
Thanks, Joy!
I love this idea Peggy, an am glad you shared it with all in the family.
You all have such a patriotic family.
Thanks for posting.
Stay Safe.
Jose, I was so amazed when I saw it. It’s so creative and yet she did such painstaking research. She does in general. Their family tree on Ancestry is huge.
Very nicely done! Great idea.
Great research, great idea, and great workmanship. Just beautiful.
Inspirational indeed
Peggy is a bit like Jackie with her hard work, creativity, and projects!
🙂
I love it. What a wonderful idea, and beautifully executed.
I so agree! And her research is impeccable, too!
What a fantastic project!
Yes yes yes :)!!!!
Beautiful tribute to so many who served.
I think so, too! I was so taken with this project the minute I saw it!
What an awesome idea! Anyone who does genealogy and family history research knows how much work goes into this kind of project.
Peggy has done a lot of research on their family history–very large tree on Ancestry, I know, and every time I run into it what I find is accurate. I agree–I just love this idea.
Truly an inspirational project! What a wonderful post for Veterans Day – an awesome creative project that speaks to family history in a very personal way.
Peggy should get tons of accolades for this work.
I so agree. The second I saw the photos of what she had done I couldn’t take my mind off it. What an idea and then the way she so meticulously and beautifully carried it off.
That’s a great display of family love, we didn’t do a Xmas tree but we did do a board of photos collected.
Oh, that’s wonderful, Paula! Yes, a display of family love–and pride!
Fabulous project Luanne. I am so glad you shared it. Inspiring. I had been working on a post on veterans on my Italian side. I ran out of time and it wasn’t complete so I’ll hold out for next year I guess.
Now we have to wait a year haha! Maybe you can keep adding to it throughout the year as you get more info!
Great idea, thats exactly what I’ll do 🙂
What a fantastic project!! I’m catching up on reading blogs today, and so far, all of the posts have been very inspirational, this one included.
I think so, too. Hard work, dedication, and creativity pulled this off!
🙂
I don’t receive your gen. blogs on my computer. Just other devices. Don’t know why. On this Christmas one, nothing comes up at all. Can you send it another way?
Sent from my iPhone
>
OK!
We have been traveling the last few days and just got a chance to see what everyone thought about Peggy’s project, we enjoyed reading all the comments just now.Thank you all for the wonderful words of encouragement, it makes these long projects worth doing.
Joel and Peggy
You can be SO proud of this project–and of all your family members dedicated to service. I loved sharing this project as it is so unique and worthwhile.
I don’t know how anyone wouldn’t adore this idea! Love it!!
I know! It’s fabulous, I agree.
What a wonderful way to remember our veterans.
Yes, it’s remarkable. Everyone loves to look at Christmas trees, so it puts the tribute front and center.
Love this! Something to work on for next year!
I am going to be watching for that!
The tree is wonderful. She’s so creative.
So creative. I really love it.
Active duty, was at Magic today, wished we could have been part of the celebration but understand due to the times.