The National Organization of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War presented its John Clem Award to Warwick resident William Trafford, 9, a student at Cedar Hill Elementary School, as the organization’s most outstanding junior member.

Past Commander-in-Chief Bruce Frail presented the national award to William, a junior member of Major Sullivan Ballou Camp No. 3, for his dedication in assisting the camp to upright fallen tombstones at area cemeteries, including Brayton Cemetery in Apponaug, as well as his dedication in placing flags at the graves of veterans.

Williams joined the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War to honor his fourth-great-grandfather, Samuel Everton, who served in the 2nd Massachusetts Heavy Artillery and died at the Andersonville Prison Camp.

The Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War is a fraternal organization dedicated to preserving the history and legacy of veteran heroes who fought and worked to save the Union in the American Civil War. Organized in 1881 and chartered by Congress in 1954, it is the legal heir and successor to the Grand Army of the Republic.