">PVT McKinley Johnson
PVT McKinley Johnson was a WWI solider assigned to F Co, 811th Pioneer Infantry, his is one of several known graves in the vicinity of Colon and Post Office roads in Lee County NC. The significance of this location is the fact that soon it will become the location of a proposed 410 acre coal ash storage site. If Duke Energy does not actually dump coal ash on the graves there, this location will still be part of the buffer of the toxic waste dump. The map of this location is above the fold.
In addition to this, the community of Osgood, one of the oldest black communities in Lee County, will be connected to this storage site. According to environmentalee.org, Local volunteers asked people in the community familiar with the history of the area about the background of the gravesites.
According to environmentalee.org, this is what is known:
* 4 metal markers to include that of PVT McKinley Johnson were found in the area.
">PVT McKinley Johnson
* The burial ground may have been the cemetery of Zion Hill United Church of Christ (UCC)
* The application for PVT Johnson’s headstone shows it being shipped to his mother in Sanford, NC
*PVT Johnson’s father, Israel Johnson, according to his death certificate, is buried at the Zion Hill Church.
*PVT Johnson’s mother, according to her death certificate is buried in the community of Osgood
If you have questions, direct them to the webpage environmentalee.org.
Source for article and pictures:
Don’t dump coal ash on McKinley Johnson’s gravesite. (2014) Retrieved December 21, 2014 from: http://www.environmentalee.org/...