Glenn praises man who meticulously restores veterans' gravestones: 'You've started something really amazing'

May 27, 2019

WRITER

Andrew Lumish is known as the “The Good Cemeterian” for meticulously cleaning and restoring the gravestones of veterans. He joined Glenn on radio Friday to share his story.

A photographer in his spare time, Lumish came across headstones dating as far back as the Civil War, and was astonished to see the beautiful old gravestones were covered with dirt, mold and other grime.

“It kind of infuriated me,” he said. “I was really upset by it.”

He decided to learn how to clean gravestones properly, and his labor of love took off. He has since been honored by the Department of Veterans Affairs and Florida Gov. Rick Scott.

John Newton Dugger was born more than 141 years ago on June 2nd 1876 when Ulysses S Grant's occupied the Oval Office as the 18th President of the United States... ▪▪▪ Interesting events that occurred during Mr. Duggers birth year included... •• On March 7th 1876... Alexander Graham Bell is granted a patent for his new invention... He calls it the "Telephone" •• On June 25th... The Battle of Little Bighorn takes place... 300 men of the United States 7th Cavalry Regiment led by Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer are wiped out by 5000 Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes lead by Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse... •• On August 1st 1876 Colorado is admitted as the 38th state in the Union... John and his Mother Martha lived with Martha's Brother Newton Dugger in Hillsborough County, Florida…John’s uncle served with the Confederate States Army in Company 57 Georgia Infantry during the Civil War… On August 1st 1883, Uncle Newton was granted 159 acres of land in return for his military service which he utilized for general farming as a source of income… John Newton Dugger passed away on August 23rd 1895... He was just 19 years old... John Newton Dugger... Before & After... #veteran #army #military #tampa #tampabay #bayarea #florida #history #historic #picture:#confederatestatesarmy #civilwar #soldier #military #cemetery #monument #tombstone #gravestone #graveyard_life #photography #picture #before&after
A post shared by The Good Cemeterian (@thegoodcemeterian) on Jul 17, 2017 at 3:33pm PDT

With each restoration, Lumish has uncovered the story behind headstone --- which is the reason Glenn wanted to talk to him.

"You said one phrase that just sounded like it was twice as loud as anything else. You said, 'I'm uncovering history.'" Glenn said

Initially cautious about telling these personal stories, Lumish ultimately decided it was the right thing to do.

“Nothing's a flat road. Nothing goes in a straight line. So early on I decided we're going to tell their story, but tell it in their entirety, ” Lumish said.

For now, Lumish's work can be seen on social media, but Glenn had a gut feeling that might change soon.

"I just have this feeling that what you're doing is way beyond anything that you might even understand at this point. You've started something really, really amazing," Glenn said.

GLENN: I saw a story about a guy named Andrew Lumish. He was featured on NBC news. A 46-year-old guy from Tampa, Florida, who happened to see the grave stones in a Tampa cemetery of these heroes.

And they were all falling part. I mean, you could imagine, you know, the mildew and the mold and the stains and everything else just from, you know, the weather in Tampa for all of those years. So he went out by himself and just started cleaning these monuments and cleaning these, you know, cemetery markers. He's now cleaned over 500 monuments. And he's a guy who's never served in the military.

And what I liked about this, it wasn't some guy going out and doing something that I promise you at some point they're going to shut him down because of some environmental reason or some stupid thing like that. But what I liked about him was the fact that he understood and was connecting with history because of this. And I think there's something really cool about this.

We wanted to get him on the phone. Andrew Lumish from Tampa, Florida, welcome to the program, sir. How are you?

ANDREW: I'm well. Glenn, thank you so much for having me this morning. I really appreciate the opportunity to speak to you.

GLENN: I'm thrilled. I saw your story a couple of days ago when it came out. First of all, explain how you got into it, and what you're doing, and what you've discovered.

ANDREW: Okay. Well, it's kind of multifaceted. Initially, there's obvious reasons and there's some reasons that are personal.

Part of it was, I love photography. And I photograph everything. I ended up stumbling upon a very old cemetery that is opened in 1850 in downtown Tampa, oldest cemetery in the area, and it was beautiful so I began to photograph it. And we went to a second cemetery, and I noticed the pure beauty of it, but something caught my eye, and it was the incredibly poor condition of monuments of heroes that served in every conflict from the Mexican wars to the Civil War to the Spanish-American War and up until World War II and Vietnam.

And I saw how terrible they were, and immediately it kind of infuriated me.

I was really upset by it. And so what I did, I began to research how to properly restore the monuments that are marble and granite and sandstone and every type of material, and I learned how to restore the monuments properly in the same way that they are restored in our national cemeteries, including Arlington. So I began to, on my day off, go to some of the historic cemeteries and restore some monuments, and that's how it began.

GLENN: Okay. So Andrew, a couple of things. First, I'm ashamed to say this but my first thought, when I saw this, was: How come he hasn't been stopped yet? And I don't mean because you're doing something wrong. There's got to be somebody out there in the government who can find something wrong with what you're doing.

Have you gotten any pushback at all?

ANDREW: None whatsoever.

GLENN: That's amazing.

ANDREW: I've been honored by the Department of veterans affairs because my story has gone viral several times, and they kind of piggybacked a little bit, because they share my story and what I do.

I've been honored by Governor Rick Scott at the state capital. I was invited, and my assistant and I, we had dinner at the Governor's mansion after receiving a wonderful volunteer award from Governor Scott and the Florida cabinet. And this week I was actually honored by all the Hillsboro County commissioners and the ceremony in downtown Tampa as well. So no pushback at all.

GLENN: So the thing that really drove me to get you on the phone was one -- do you listen to my program at all? Or do you know who am I call?

ANDREW: Yes.

GLENN: I don't mean "do you know who I am," I mean have you followed at all -- I'm really into history. And you said --

ANDREW: Yes, I do know that.

GLENN: You said one phrase that just sounded like it was twice as loud as anything else. You said, "I'm uncovering history."

ANDREW: Well, initially, I told you earlier, initially it became just the restorations themselves. But it has evolved, and what I decided to do was, I have a wonderful assistant who helps me with research because I'm very busy. She helps me fill in the blanks.

What we do now, we've used different resources, online, genealogy resources, libraries, and we are able to go back in time. It's 2017, so when we really fortunate that we can do the things that we do. So we're able to look at entire person's life. So not only will you see the before, what it looked like before, the terrible condition that the monuments were in before, but you'll see the after picture of the monument, but we tell their entire life story from the day they're born until their final day here on earth. We talked about all their achievement, accomplishments. I will say, I was somewhat torn, because sometimes you uncover some things that may not be particularly flattering.

But I was torn as to whether or not when we're telling these stories about these heroes whether we should talk about it, and we all have bumpy roads.

GLENN: Yeah.

ANDREW: Nothing's a flat road. Nothing goes in a straight line. So early on I decided we're going to tell their story but tell it in their entirety. We will talk about the nature --

GLENN: Good for you.

ANDREW: We put it in perspective.

GLENN: What was the thing that made you -- what did you stumble on -- I don't have to tell me the name of the person but what did you stumble across you were like, oh, man. What was it?

ANDREW: Well, there's a catalyst to all this as well. I did serve. However, I have friends who have served.

I also have a wonderful assistant, and he was 12 years in the military, and I was his confidante in a lot of ways, and unbeknownst to me, I really don't talk about this much. But I'm beginning to open up about it a little bit more.

He was a great guy. Super social. Wonderful guy. 12 years, he was still a reservist, he worked with me, on my team, and one day he just told me what he was going to do his entire weekend, and he went -- he told me everything, and then I texted him on a Sunday to let him know what his schedule was for Monday.

Well, a long story short, he had PTSD, and he took his life.

And when I do these restorations, and I had no idea. It was a complete and utter shock to me. When I do these restorations, I think of him. Not only do I tell the stories and complete these restorations, but he is always, always by my side. Because I don't want him to be forgotten either. It's very important.

GLENN: What was his name, Andrew?

ANDREW: Christopher Scott.

GLENN: Tell me about the World War I veteran who died on the USS Tampa. A German submarine attack.

ANDREW: Incredible story. 18 years old. Lewis Franklin Vaughn, at the age of 18, he ended up being, you know, in the Navy, essentially. And he served on the USS Tampa. By 1918, the war was coming to a close. And Germany was getting desperate. So all they had left, essentially, were submarine forces. And they were not going by rules of engagement, and they were submarining all ships going into England and London. They were torpedoing just supply ships that would be able to supply the United Kingdom.

So the USS Tampa, what their job was at the time was escort these supply ships to London and all open the UK to make sure that they were safe. On September 26, 1988, the German torpedo killed everyone on board. So Lewis Franklin Vaughn died on that day, but the interesting thing, and the personal thing on Mr. Vaughn, or young Mr. Vaughn was that before he chose to join the military to serve his country, he had three sisters. None of them lived to be beyond 14 months old. And I can imagine the conversation he had with his parents sitting at the table in his home, and they already lost all of their children. He's the only one who survived, and then he was killed by the Germans near the end, near the close of the first world war in September of 1918.

GLENN: Is there anything -- have you thought about -- do you, A, do the research on the person prior to, or after, or while you're cleaning the headstone?

ANDREW: It's a combination of all of the above. It all depends on the circumstances. It's a combination. You know, it depends on the circumstances. Every situation has its own set of circumstances.

Occasionally I will take students with me, high school students who love to go and I'll have them step back in the footsteps. And it's always good to know the history of the person and the events of that.

So I'll have them stand in the -- descendants who would have stood there at the funeral, and we talk about what the world was like, what the United States was when they were alive and when they die.

And what's great, you get the bad raps on the Millennials. The attention and love that these high school kids have, from different backgrounds -- you know what it's like in Tampa. It's muddy. It's wet. And they don't mind. They sweat. They get out there, and they have a great time and they learn a history lesson.

So the negativity about Millennials. But my experience, my own son, about to turn 21, it's been fantastic. It's been a great experience. And not just for them. It's therapeutic for me as well.

GLENN: Andrew, do you have a website? What's your website?

ANDREW: Well, we're working on it. We're building a website right now. It's going to be the goodcemeterian.com and the goodcemeterian.org, but right now we do most of everything on social media. The Facebook page is called the Good Cemeterian. It's a very interactive Facebook page. We have wonderful interaction from all over the world.

But the websites will be up and running in the next month or so. We also have a nonprofit, and we help organizations all across the -- locally for the most part now, but we vet military organizations that do good, especially for those who came home, and then they need that help. I always think of Chris in these moments.

So what we do is we -- we help support different organizations, so that they can achieve the goals that they want so they can make the lives of those who served our country much more pleasant and much more adaptable once getting home.

GLENN: Andrew Lumish, a guy who was a photographer, who started something that is now becoming a life passion, and I think Andrew is -- I just have this feeling that what you're doing is way beyond anything that you might even understand at this point.

You've started something really, really amazing. Thank you so much, Andrew. Appreciate it.

ANDREW: Thank you for having me this morning, Glenn. I do appreciate it, and thank you again, and thank you to all the men and women who serve our country. You are not forgotten. You are so important to the fabric of our society today, and we will continue doing what we do to support you.

GLENN: God bless you, Andrew, thank you very much. I hope so actually shake your hand sometime.

PAT: Great.

GLENN: Andrew Lumish.

STU: Fantastic. Just doing something outside in Tampa this time of year is a service to your country.

GLENN: Oh, yeah. Just walking from your front door to your car. I'm pretty brave and heroic. I went to work once this week.

STU: Just the once.

GLENN: I left my house, got into the car. I made it to the parking lot and I thought, I have we get out of the car and walk in, and we don't have, you know, air conditioned parking.

So I was at work technically, kind of.

STU: And here's your Purple Heart.

GLENN: What an amazing story.

Critical theory destroys truth and justice

Editor's note: This article was originally published on TheBlaze.com.

Critical theory once stood out as the absurd progressive notion that it is. Now, its maxims are becoming an integral part of ordinary political discourse. The more you repeat a lie, the more you will believe it, and this is the very dangerous place in which we find ourselves today.

Take this critical theory maxim as an example: If we desire justice, we must sometimes champion what may appear superficially as injustice. It's a necessary evil, if you will, the necessity of “controlled injustice.”

By using truth through fabrication and controlled injustice for justice, we’ll save the republic. We’ll be acting in a noble way.

This definition of justice is defined by the “oppressed,” not the “oppressor.” It is the greatest happiness for the greatest number. To achieve this justice, however, we need to endorse acts on occasion that, while seemingly unjust, serve a higher purpose. It will ensure the stability and the unity of our republic, and this may manifest in ways that seem contradictory to our values. But these are the necessary shadows to cast light on “true justice.”

And isn’t that what we are all after, anyway?

Here’s another critical theory maxim: Sometimes we find the truth through fabrication. Our pursuit of truth sometimes requires a strategic use of falsehoods. The truth is a construct that has been shaped and tailored to promote the well-being of the collective.

We sometimes need to accept and propagate lies designed by "the system” — not the old system, but the system that we’re now using to replace the old to get more justice through injustice and more truth through fabrication.

We’re engaging in a higher form of honesty. When we fabricate, it’s for the right reason. We are reaching up to the heavens fighting for a higher sort of honesty. To fortify the truth, we occasionally must weave a tapestry of lies. Each thread, essential for the greater picture, will ultimately define our understanding and ensure our unity under this infallible wisdom.

The election is coming up. Does this maxim sound familiar? Many think it is imperative that we secure our republic through election control to maintain our republic. Sometimes, we might need to take actions that by traditional standards might be questionable.

The act of securing elections requires cheating. It's not mere deception. It is a noble act of safeguarding our way of life. We're on the verge of losing this democracy, and without deception, we will lose it.

To ensure it doesn't fall into the hands of those we know will destroy it, we may have to make a few fabrications. We're fabricating stories to be able to control or secure the republic through our elections. By using truth through fabrication and controlled injustice for justice, we'll save the republic. Therefore, we'll be acting in a noble way. Stealing an election from those who wish to harm our society is truly an act of valor and an essential measure to protect our values and ensure the continuation of our just society.

If we desire justice, we must sometimes champion what may appear superficially as injustice.

I know it's a paradox of honor through dishonor. But in this context, by embracing the dishonor, we achieve the highest form of honor, ensuring the stability and the continuation of our great republic.

Let this be heard, far and wide, as a great call to patriotic action. As we advance, let each of us, citizens of this great and honorable republic, consider these principles. Not as abstract or paradoxical but as practical guides to daily life. Embrace the necessity of controlled injustice, the utility of lies, the duty to secure our electoral process, and the honor and apparent dishonor. These are not merely strategies for survival. They are prerequisites for our prosperity.

We all have to remember that justice is what our leaders define, that truth is what our party tells us. Our republic stands strong on the values of injustice for justice, honor through dishonor, and the fabrication of truths. To deviate from this path is to jeopardize the very fabric of our society. Strength through unity; unity through strength.

We've heard this nonsense for so long. But now, this nonsense is becoming an instituted reality, and we are entering perilous times. Don't be fooled by the narratives you will hear during the march to November. Never let someone convince you that the ends justify the means, that a little bit of injustice is needed to achieve a broader, collective vision of justice, that truth sometimes requires fabricated lies and narratives. If we do, justice will cease to be justice, truth will cease to be truth, and our republic will be lost.

Top 5 MOST EVIL taxes the government extorts from you

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"In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes." -Ben Franklin

The injustice of taxation has been a core issue for Americans since the very beginning of our country, and it's a problem we have yet to resolve. This belief was recently reignited in many Americans earlier this month on tax day when the numbers were crunched and it was discovered that the government was somehow owed even more hard-earned money. As Glenn recently discussed on his show, it's getting to be impossible for most Americans to afford to live comfortably, inflation is rising, and our politicians keep getting richer.

The taxpayer's burden is heavier than ever.

The government is not above some real low blows either. While taxes are a necessary evil, some taxes stretch the definition of "necessary" and emphasize the "evil." Here are the top five most despicable taxes that are designed to line the IRS coffers at your expense:

Income Tax

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"It would be a hard government that should tax its people one-tenth part of their income." -Ben Franklin

On February 24th, 2024 we hit a very unfortunate milestone, the 101st anniversary of the 16th Amendment, which authorized federal income tax. Where does the government get the right to steal directly out of your paycheck?

Death Taxes

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"Now my advice for those who die, Declare the pennies on your eyes" -George Harrison

Not even in death can you escape the cold pursuit of the tax collector. It's not good enough that you have to pay taxes on everything you buy and every penny you make your entire life. Now the feds want a nice slice, based on the entire value of your estate, that can be as much as 40 percent. Then the state government gets to stick their slimy fingers all over whatever remains before your family is left with the crumbs. It's practically grave-robbery.

Payroll

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"The power to tax is the power to destroy." -John Marshall

What's that? The nice chunk of your paycheck the government nabs before you can even get it to the bank wasn't enough? What if the government taxed your employer just for paying you? In essence, you make less than what your agreed pay rate is and it costs your employer more! Absolutely abominable.

Social Security

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"We don't have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven't taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much." -Ronald Reagan

Everyone knows the collapse of Social Security is imminent. It has limped along for years, only sustained by a torrent of tax dollars and the desperate actions of politicians. For decades, people have unwillingly forked over money into the system they will never see again.

FICA

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"What at first was plunder assumed the softer name of revenue." -Thomas Paine

FICA is the payroll equivalent of Social Security. Your employer has to match however much you pay. It means it costs your employer even more to pay you—again, you'll NEVER see that money. At this point, are you even working for yourself, or are you just here to generate money for the government to frivolously throw away?

5 DISTURBING ways World War III will be different from previous wars

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Has World War III begun?

Over the weekend, Iran launched an unprecedented attack against Israel involving over 300 missiles and drones. This marked the first direct attack on Israel originating from Iranian territory. Fortunately, according to an Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, 99 percent of missiles and drones were successfully neutralized by Israeli defense systems. Iran claimed that the operation against Israel had concluded and that no further offensive was planned, although the possibility of another attack is still present.

This has left many people, including Glenn, wondering the same thing: did we just witness the start of World War III?

Glenn recently had a World War II Air Force Veteran as a guest on his TV special, who told stories of the horrors he and his brothers-in-arms faced in the skies over war-torn Europe. This was a timely reminder of the terrors of war and a warning that our future, if it leads to another world war, is a dark one.

But, if Glenn's coverage of the Iranian attack revealed one thing, it's that World War III will look nothing like the world wars of the twentieth century. Long gone are the days of John "Lucky" Luckadoo and his "Bloody Hundredth" bravely flying their B-17s into battle. Over the weekend, we saw hundreds of autonomous drones and missiles clashing with extreme speed and precision over several different fronts (including space) simultaneously. This ain't your grandfather's war.

From EMP strikes to cyber attacks, here are FIVE ways the face of war has changed:

EMP attacks

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The entire modern world, on every level, is completely dependent on electricity. From your home refrigerator to international trade, the world would come to a grinding halt without power. And as Glenn has pointed out, it wouldn't even be that hard to pull off. All it would take is 3 strategically placed, high-altitude nuclear detonations and the entire continental U.S. would be without power for months if not years. This would cause mass panic across the country, which would be devastating enough on its own, but the chaos could be a perfect opportunity for a U.S. land invasion.

Nuclear strikes

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Nuclear war is nothing new. Many of us grew up during the Cold War, built fallout shelters, and learned to duck and cover. But times have changed. The Berlin Wall fell and so did the preparedness of the average American to weather a nuclear attack. As technology has advanced, more of our adversaries than ever have U.S. cities within their crosshairs, and as Glenn has pointed out, these adversaries are not exactly shy about that fact. Unfortunately, the possibility of an atomic apocalypse is as real as ever.

Immigration warfare

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The strategy of strangling an opposing nation's economy to gain the upper hand is a wartime tactic as old as time. That's why the Border Crisis is so alarming. What better way to damage an opponent's economy than by overburdening it with millions of undocumented immigrants? As Glenn has covered, these immigrants are not making the trek unaided. There is a wide selection of organizations that facilitate this growing disaster. These organizations are receiving backing from around the globe, such as the WEF, the UN, and U.S. Democrats! Americans are already feeling the effects of the border crisis. Imagine how this tactic could be exploited in war.

Cyber shutdowns

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Cyber attacks will be a major tactic in future wars. We've already experienced relatively minor cyber strikes from Russia, China, and North Korea, and it is a very real possibility that one of our adversaries inflicts a larger attack with devastating consequences on the United States. In fact, the WEF has already predicted a "catastrophic" cyber attack is imminent, and Glenn suggests that it is time to start preparing ourselves. A cyber attack could be every bit as devastating as an EMP, and in a world run by computers, nothing is safe.

Biological assault

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Don't trust the "experts." That was the takeaway many of us had from the pandemic, but something less talked about is the revelation that China has manufactured viruses that are capable of spreading across the globe. We now know that the lab leak hypothesis is true and that the Wuhan lab manufactured the virus that infected the entire world. That was only ONE virus from ONE lab. Imagine what else the enemies of America might be cooking up.

The government is WAGING WAR against these 3 basic needs

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The government has launched a full-on assault against our basic needs, and people are starting to take notice.

As long-time followers of Glenn are probably aware, our right to food, water, and power is under siege. The government no longer cares about our general welfare. Instead, our money lines the pockets of our politicians, funds overseas wars, or goes towards some woke-ESG-climate-Great Reset bullcrap. And when they do care, it's not in a way that benefits the American people.

From cracking down on meat production to blocking affordable power, this is how the government is attacking your basic needs:

Food

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Glenn had Rep. Thomas Massie on his show where he sounded the alarm about the attack on our food. The government has been waging war against our food since the thirties when Congress passed the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938. They started by setting strict limits on how many crops a farmer could grow in a season and punishing anyone who grew more—even if it was intended for personal use, not for sale on the market. This sort of autocratic behavior has continued into the modern day and has only gotten more draconian. Today, not only are you forced to buy meat that a USDA-approved facility has processed, but the elites want meat in general off the menu. Cow farts are too dangerous to the environment, so the WEF wants you to eat climate-friendly alternatives—like bugs.

Water

ALESSANDRO RAMPAZZO / Contributor | Getty Images

As Glenn discussed during a recent Glenn TV special, the government has been encroaching on our water for years. It all started when Congress passed the Clean Water Act in 1972, which gave the government the ability to regulate large bodies of water. As the name suggests, the act was primarily intended to keep large waterways clear of pollution, but over time it has allowed the feds to assume more and more control over the country's water supply. Most recently, the Biden administration attempted to expand the reach of the Clean Water Act to include even more water and was only stopped by the Supreme Court.

Electricity