VFW Post 9474 requests help with honoring grave sites for Veteran’s Day

The Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9474 is asking for help from the community in identifying local graves needing recognition for Veteran’s Day.

Last May, to celebrate Memorial Day, VFW Post 9474 representatives visited Hillsdale and Haynie cemeteries with the hope of placing an American flag on the grave of each U.S. veteran.

It did not take long for them to realize that while some graves were marked as belonging to a veteran, many others were not.

In September, VFW Post 9474 representatives purchased 100 permanent grave markers to install at U.S. veteran graves. If demand proves high enough, more will be purchased, said Post 9474 representative Steve Nelson.

The post plans to work in coordination with local cemeteries but is also hoping for community input.

Those with information about final resting places for veterans in the area can email info@vfwpost9474.com and should include the veteran’s name, branch of service, approximate time of active duty, name of the local cemetery and approximate gravesite location.

Donations to Post 9474 are accepted, but the 6-inch grave marker and flag holders are free with installation included, Nelson said.

The Streets-Pike VFW Post 9474 started in 1947 and was named in remembrance of two 21-year-old WWII veterans, one from Blaine, and the other from Custer. Post 9474 was active during and after the Korean and Vietnam wars, but recent years have seen involvement dwindle, Nelson said.

“It’s a different generation that had to mess with Iraq and Afghanistan, so I can understand their stance,” Nelson said.

The average age of members is about 76, he said, the same age as the post itself.

“Without the participation of younger veterans, the future of Post 9474 is uncertain,” he said. “While that reality is accepted, the lack of future recognition of individual U.S. veterans is not.”