Published: December 16, 2007 02:47 am            

‘I wanted just one red rose’

Flowers placed on graves of U.S. soldiers buried abroad

FAIRMONT — West Virginians have served in every major U.S. conflict since the country’s inception. And many of these Mountaineers gave the ultimate sacrifice — giving their lives for their country.

Before the Korean War, American servicemen who perished in action were buried in cemeteries overseas. John E. Cunningham, father of local businesswoman Fran Warner, is one of the nearly 125,000 American war dead buried overseas.

Cunningham, a master sergeant in the 194th Glider Infantry Regiment, was killed in action in the skies above Belgium in March 1945. He was 25 years old and had already served with the 82nd Airborne Division. Cunningham, a Rivesville native, was buried in Margraten Cemetery in Holland.

Although Warner has not yet had the opportunity to visit her father’s final resting place, she still has flowers placed on his grave.

During a Rotary meeting, Warner was fortunate enough to meet a World War II veteran from Holland — Hans Onderwater. Onderwater was the guest speaker at the weekly meeting and was on hand to discuss Holland in general.

“He also told us much about the appreciation the Dutch have for our soldiers,” Warner said.

Warner approached Onderwater after his presentation. During their discussion she mentioned that her father had been buried in Holland at the Margraten Cemetery.

“He told me that wasn’t far from his home,” Warner said. “And he told me he would put flowers on my father’s grave.”

So, six weeks later Warner received an unexpected phone call from Onderwater. During their conversation, the Holland native asked Warner what type of flower she would like to have placed on her father’s grave.

“I told him I wanted just one red rose,” Warner said.

Shortly thereafter Warner received photos via e-mail. The photos showed a bouquet of flowers placed on her father’s grave, along with a single, red rose.

“I was so happy,” she said.

When Warner was a youngster, a Dutch teenager had adopted her father’s grave. The Dutch child would also place flowers on the grave. Warner and the teenager would often correspond, during which times the Dutch child sent pictures of Cunningham’s grave.

“Something like this makes you a very, very patriotic person,” Warner said.

However, one does not have to luck into a foreign veteran to have flowers placed on a grave overseas. The American Battlefield Monuments Commission also provides this service. The commission operates, maintains and administers 24 American burial grounds on foreign soil, according to its Web site.

These cemeteries are the final resting place for over 93,000 U.S. soldiers killed during World War II, as well as 30,921 soldiers who lost their lives in the first World War. The commission provides numerous services in addition to placing flowers.

“These are services we’re honored to provide,” said Charles Krohn, deputy director of public affairs with the commission.

Officials with the commission will provide information on the war dead, including the name of the cemetery in which they are buried as well as the plot, row and grave number, Krohn said. Commission employees will also provide black and white photographs of the headstone, and digital color photographs of the donated floral arrangements.

Other services include explaining the best routes to the cemetery and providing an escort service to the grave site, Krohn said. Letters authorizing fee-free passports for the immediate family members of the deceased so they can travel overseas to the cemetery can also be provided.

A color lithograph of the tombstone can also be obtained through the commission, said Martha Sell, chief of public programs with the commission. The commission processes approximately 8,000 requests for services per year, Krohn said.

The American Battlefield Commission can be contacted by phone at 703-696-6900 or via e-mail at info@abmc.gov.

E-mail Paul Fallon at pfallon@timeswv.com.



Lost military medals can be replaced

By Paul Fallon

Times West Virginian

FAIRMONT — United States military medals are symbols of the courage and sacrifices made by soldiers and sailors who served their country.

But like so many tangible symbols — the medals can become worn over time. Some families have also lost their loved one’s medals. However, there are mechanisms to obtain medals misplaced over the years.

The West Virginia Division of Veterans Affairs is one place veterans or their families can contact in order to obtain lost medals. Veterans Affairs officials offer assistance with medal request paperwork as well as the procedure for obtaining them, said Bob Setler, veterans service officer.

“It normally takes about six months to get the medals back after we send the paperwork in,” Setler said.

Setler, a retired Navy man who served 17 months in Vietnam, said he is passionate about helping other veterans and their families obtain medals and accommodations. In fact, he worked on one case that dated back to the Civil War.

“It was a very interesting case,” Setler said.

A woman contacted Setler looking for information concerning family members who fought in the Civil War. She was looking to obtain any medals those family members might have received.

“We have resources we can go to look for that,” Setler said.

However, Setler was not sure if his inquiry bore fruit. He pointed out that medals do not come to his office and instead, they are sent to the family members’ homes. Therefore, he had no way of knowing if the woman received any of her families’ medals. He also pointed out that the woman had never contacted him again.

“No news is probably good news,” Setler said adding that she most likely received the accommodations or she would have contacted him again.

Certain proof of military service is required for medal requests. However, if the family does not have the paperwork needed, it can be obtained from the U.S. Military’s National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Mo.

All requests for information made to the NPRC must be submitted in writing, said a center spokeswoman. A request form for military records, the SF 180, can be obtained by writing to the National Personnel Records Center at 9700 Page Ave. St. Louis, MO 63132.

After receiving the records from the center, a medal request can then be sent to the appropriate branch of military service. The DD214 military discharge form can also be obtained through the NPRC. This form will list medals awarded to the veteran, Setler said.

Not all of the records at the center are complete. A 1973 fire destroyed many of the records for Army veterans discharged from Nov. 1 1912 to Jan. 1, 1960. A large portion of records for Air Force veterans discharged from Sept. 25, 1947 to Jan. 1, 1964 were also destroyed.

Another route veterans and their families could follow is to contact West Virginia Senator Jay Rockefeller’s office. Rockefeller sits on the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs. The senator’s staff members have processed numerous requests for veterans and their families and will assist with obtaining information from the NPRC.

“My office is happy to help the veterans and their families replace missing service medals,” Rockefeller said. “In many instances, these honors are about giving a family a lasting connection to a lost loved one.”

Rockefeller’s staff members will also work on obtaining a veteran’s information even if the records were lost in the 1973 fire, said Jessica Stanton, Rockefeller’s deputy press secretary.

“It will be a little more difficult, but we’ll still try,” she said.

The senator has also presented some of the medals his office helped obtain to the service men or their family members, Rockefeller added.

“I consider a truly high honor to be able to present these symbols of service, courage, duty and sacrifice to those who have fought so bravely for our nation,” Rockefeller said. “It means so much to them, and to me.”

Rockefeller staff members can be reached at their Fairmont office. The phone number is 367-0122. His Charleston office can be contacted by calling (304)347-5372.

The West Virginia Division of Veterans Affairs Fairmont field office can be reached at 367-2702.

E-mail Paul Fallon at pfallon@timeswv.com.

        

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