VETERAN'S PROJECT

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Over the last few years while working as caretaker for the Hobart Cemetery, I began paying particular attention to the military service markers for war veterans. All armed services veterans are entitled to a military marker upon their death. In the Hobart Cemetery alone, there are markers from the pre-World War era, World War I, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Many of these military markers were placed years ago with no underlying foundation and have sunk so far down into the ground as to have almost disappeared. Some of the older monuments were placed with underlying foundations, but those foundations have shifted or broken over the years. These memorials to those people who had so proudly served our country have been forgotten or neglected over the years. It saddened me to see this.

This year I decided to try to remedy that situation. I wanted to be able to restore those memorials to their best condition possible. It would be a big project, and I would need some financial assistance in order to be able to do what needed to be done. To that end, I put together a proposal for the work and submitted that to our local Veterans of Foreign Wars Post Commander. He, in turn, contacted the local Marine Commandant and the Commander of the local American Legion Post so that all three organizations could come together to underwrite the expense of the restorations.

In April, I was given the approval to begin restorations. I am very proud to be able to provide these services and am extremely thankful for the opportunity provided by these organizations which will allow me to do so.