Military Tribute

Since Monday is a holiday, and all the kids will be home, I probably won't get out to any of the cemeteries. To make up for that, I decided to post some pictures that I had previously taken.

Several weeks ago I was in the vicinity of the Ohio Fallen Heroes Memorial. I really love visiting that little park. (I even planted a letterbox in it, but it's gone now.)  The memorial was established in 2005 as a tribute to all of the men and women in uniform from Ohio that were killed in the Global War on Terrorism since September 11, 2001.

Ohio Fallen Heroes Memorial

Eternal Flame

The most recognized name in this park is Sgt. Keith Matt Maupin, from Batavia Ohio.
April 10, 2004- Maupin was captured near Baghdad,  Iraq,  when his convoy came under attack by individuals using rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire.
April 16, 2004- Maupin was listed as MIA.
June 28, 2004- Arabic-language television network, Al Jazeera, aired a low-quality video purportedly depicting Maupin's execution.
June 30, 2004- an Army spokesman said the video was "totally inconclusive."
March 29, 2008- an armed forces medical examiner confirmed that human remains recovered in Iraq were those of Sgt. Maupin.


Since I only have a few pictures of the memorial, and I have a military theme going, I will also post some pictures of veteran's markers taken in Westerville cemeteries.

War of 1812

Revolutionary War

Civil War

I had to look up what SAR stood for. At first I thought it was ASR, but that didn't bring up any results that made since. So I tried some other key words and realized it was SAR; Sons of the American Revolution.











 I also had to look up GAR. It stands for Grand Army of the Republic. Being in Ohio all of the Civil War markers I have found are Union Soldiers. I will have to make a trip to Camp Chase soon  so I can get a picture of a Confederate marker.

Spanish American War

I haven't seen any of the Spanish American War markers on actual graves, but there is a war memorial in Otterbein Cemetery and this is one of the markers featured. Now that I know what it looks like I will be able to spot its unique shape from a distance. I'll keep on the look out for a veteran of this war.  






    

World War I

World War II

Korea

Vietnam

Ok. I didn't think I would have any free time to go to a cemetery, but I realized I didn't have a Vietnam War marker. I just couldn't leave the list incomplete! I had to try, right? At least Blendon is really close so it's a quick trip. This was a tricky marker to find. It is similar to the WWI marker so it's hard to spot from a distance. I drove around for a few minutes before I spotted one. Then I realized that there is also one in the veterans memorial area. Next time, I'll look there first.

When I got home and started posting the pictures and writing about the Fallen Heroes Memorial, it dawned on me that I didn't have any markers from the Persian Gulf War, Iraq War or Afghanistan War. I did some quick research and found that there are at least 2 Iraq War veterans buried in Blendon Cemetery. So off I go...again. Unfortunately, the office is closed on Saturdays and if I wanted to find them I would have to drive up and down. That's like looking for a needle in a haystack! Blendon is a large cemetery. I actually found one of the two men, but he did not have a marker. A military plaque, 4 American flags, lots of flowers and little tchotchkes, but no marker. Oh well, I know there is another soldier buried in Berkshire Cemetery and he has a marker; I saw it on his FindAGrave memorial page. Next time I am in that area, I'll have to stop in and take a picture. Maybe I can get a complete set of military grave marker pictures.