Contributor: Elise Withered
Informant: Joe Mclaughlin
Tag: Dillsboro, IN Cemetery
Semester/Year: Fall/2005
“There is a story about an angel in the Dillsboro Cemetery. The story is told that a young man named Phillip goes off to WWII. Jen the love of his life begs him not to go but they knew he had to. Before he left they got married which was something they both wanted to do. Everyday while in Europe, Phillip would write Jen and tell her how much he loved her. As the war was ending Jen would look out the window everyday to see if Phillip had come back. One day while she was looking out the window and she saw an army truck. The two men in uniform knocked on the door and she was so sure it was going to be him because he had promised to come back to her. To her surprise neither of the two men were Phillip. They told her that he died saving a family. The two men gave her an army flag folded and she fell down in tears. She would not give up on her love Phillip and never tried to find someone else. She died of heartbreak and was then buried at the Dillsboro Cemetery. Some say that her gravestone cries, because she is still waiting for her love Phillip to come back.”
Context:
The informant’s name is Joe Mclaughlin and he is originally from the Philippines. He moved to the states when he was 6 and now lives in Aurora, Indiana. (The town next to Dillsboro) The interview was conducted in my dorm room and was tape recorded. Joe is currently a freshman at Indiana University. He heard this legend from a friend when they drove by the cemetery.