Henry Mechlin was born 10/14/1851 in Mt. Pleasant, PA. He enlisted in the Army on 8/5/1875 in Pittsburg. His job as a citizen was as a blacksmith. He was discharged on 8/4/1880 at Ft. Meade, D.T. -- his job in the army was also as blacksmith. Henry had gray eyes, dark hair, and fair complexion and stood 5'10" tall. He received a pension of $34 a month and was admitted to the U.S. Soldier's Home on 8/30/1911. Died at age 74 at 2:20am on 4/10/1926.

Henry was assigned to Company H of the 7th Cavalry at LBH under the command of Capt Benteen and fought during the Hilltop Fight from June 25-26, 1876.  Henry was awarded the Medal of Honor on 8/29/1878 for retrieving water for the wounded at the Reno-Benteen Defense Site.

Henry also had a daughter named Minnie. We know her today as Ms. Minnie Carey and she’s still enjoying life. This incredible woman warmed the hearts of everyone that came in contact with her during her visit to the Little Bighorn Battlefield. She wanted to see the place where her father fought while she participated in the 125 commemoration festivities.

On December 15, 2003 I received an email from Ron Scali a.k.a. "Teardown."  Ron is the VP of the US Military Vets Motorcycle Club in Sebring Florida. Ron wrote, “One of the charities we have is visiting veterans in nursing homes. It was on such a visit when my wife and I met Ms. Carey. She is indeed a very pleasant lady and doing remarkable. We have heard many stories of her father William Mechling. On my visit Saturday, preparing a list for Santa, I asked Ms. Carey if Santa could bring her anything? She said she would like information on her father. Through an easy search of the world wide web, with sites such as yours, we were able to put together a 30 page album of names, pictures (even a painted portrait of her father), stories and poems.”

On December 20, 2003 I received another email from Ron with information about the Christmas celebration with Ms. Carey along with the photos seen below. Ron stated, “What an awesome day we had today. The guest of honor at our second nursing home of the day was Ms. Minnie Carey. The US Military Vets Motorcycle Club presented Ms. Carey with the book that was compiled in the last week. Her reaction to seeing her father's picture and the smile on her face made it well worth any effort we may have put into it.”

It's truly amazing that Ms. Carey is THE daughter of a soldier who fought at the Little Bighorn. You can't get much closer to the participants, today, than that.

I believe this is truly a great Christmas story and want to share it with all of you. I want to especially thank Ron (Teardown) and all his club members who helped bring such joy to Ms. Carey and other residents of various nursing homes.

Merry Christmas To All,

Bob Reece

Christmas 2003