Defense Finance and Accounting Service

[BobKamman]

We have all seen 1099's and W-2s from this Indianapolis organization.  Our military clients at some time may have given them a call, or sent them a letter.  Ever picture what it must be like?  I have to share this with you:

"Without fanfare, parades, or glory, the bookkeeping for America’s wars takes place in Indianapolis. The military’s bean counters are housed in the Bean Federal Center, which is named for Major General Emmett J. Bean, the former commander of what’s now the Defense Finance and Accounting Service. DFAS, which runs the books for the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and every other American defense agency, claims to be the one of the world’s largest finance operations. The Bean Center is scaled accordingly, with more than a million and a half square feet packed into a three-story monolith. Inside, in a maze of white-walled corridors, a small army of employees manages the payroll of the world’s most expensive military—a tab that includes the President’s salary. 'People who have worked in the building for many years get turned around, just because the hallways are so long and everything kind of looks the same,' one government employee told me."

If you want to read more about how the hallways are now covered with murals (painted on Tyvek) of landscapes from American battlefields, here's the story:

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/persons-of-interest/the-man-painting-americas-wars 

[IRonMaN]

Thanks Bob!

[PATAX]

Many Revolutionary War soldiers, the first soldiers, received land grants as compensation. The higher the rank, the higher number of Acres granted.

[BobKamman]

My ancestor Prettyman Merry built what is now the oldest house still standing in the Cincinnati area, with his 3300-acre land grant in 1782 from Revolutionary War service.  It's across the river from Cincinnati, in Kentucky.  Near the Cincinnati airport (code CVG, because it's actually in Covington) and very near the former IRS Service Center, also in Covington.  Both Merry and Prettyman (see, Washington DC courthouse named after Judge E. Barrett Prettyman) are surnames on my mother's side.  I always feel sorry for genealogists named Smith and Jones.  

[PATAX]

That's fascinating and great to know. You should be proud of your ancestors. I was recently researching genealogy for a girl and found out that she was descended from a local Revolutionary War veteran and original settler in the area. I told her mom and the mom replied: " whippy do ". 

[IRonMaN]

I did my genealogy work and found out that I was related to George Washington.  At least that’s the story I’m going with today and you know it has to be true since you read it on the internet.

Ok that might not be completely accurate, but if you want to know the truth I am related to the Norwegian that invented lutefisk.  I know that nobody else here would ever want to make that claim so I’ll go with that one for today.

[BobKamman]

My ancestor Peter Jett settled walking distance from George Washington's birthplace in Virginia, around 1660.  It's difficult to track down where in England, the colonial settlers originated, but I found the church where he was baptized in 1620s Oxfordshire.  It's still a working church, using the same baptism font.  I visited there, a few years ago.  Meanwhile, my Norwegian great-grandfather came to Iowa at the age of 3.  I think his parents were lutefisk refugees.