MARQUETTE – The Civil War soldiers from this area deserve to be remembered and John Gorto is doing his best to make that happen.

He’s spent years working on documenting the names of these men and the result is a book called “Civil War Veterans Buried in Marquette County” which is available at Snowbound Books, Book World and the Marquette Regional History Center.

All this from a New Jersey native.

Gorto grew up in Bedford, New Jersey, graduating from high school in 1967. He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and was sent to Vietnam in 1968. After that, he was assigned to K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base in Marquette County, taking night courses through Northern Michigan University.

When he left the service, Gorto enrolled at what’s now Momouth University in New Jersey, but came back to the Upper Peninsula, marrying Lois Roti of Negaunee and earning a bachelor of science, then a master of arts from NMU.

“I was part of the first field archaeology program at NMU in 1972,” Gorto said.

After working at the Tilden Mine in National Mine for a time, Gorto joined the National Guard and he and his wife, Lois, became Ishpeming residents.

“We lived three blocks from the Ishpeming cemetery and I would go for walks,” Gorto said. “I saw these strange headstones and saw they were from Civil War veterans.”

Intrigued, Gorto copied down all the names and units. Then when the local chapter of the Sons of the Civil War, Camp 266, did a re-enactment, Gorto brought along his list.

“The commander said somebody needs to document this,” he said. “The next thing I knew, I was the graves registration officer and from 1999-2004, I worked on the project.”

He kept after it even after he and Lois moved to Arizona after retiring.

“I know I will never be done. There are so many misspelled names, changed names, missing names,” Gorto said. “There were some soldiers back then who would come home on leave and then send someone back (to the Army) in their place.”

There are about 1,200 names in Gorto’s book and he’s hoping to continue gathering information.

“It was a work of love,” he said. “These gentlemen deserved to be honored.”

Renee Prusi can be contacted at 906-228-2500, ext. 240.