15 veterans receive marked graves, ceremonies a century after their service
DES MOINES, Iowa — Fifteen Civil War veterans received marked graves and a military ceremony more than a century after their service had ended.
Taps rang out at the Glendale Cemetery on Thursday afternoon in honor of 15 Civil War veterans who didn't receive marked graves when they were first buried.
Researchers and volunteers discovered the graves and went on a hunt to locate documents about who was buried there and what their stories were. During the ceremony, each soldier was named and brief details of their lives were shared.
'Johnston Lotahocker, he was a machinist, brass and ironworker. Joseph Davis was a stone and brick mason. Henry A Siders, and I love this one. Even in 1940, nearly 40 years after he served, he lived his occupation as a soldier,' said Mike Rowley, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War in Iowa Member.
Bob Niffenegger, a veteran and retired Des Moines firefighter, discovered some of the unmarked stones and made it his mission to find them.
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'Poor is the nation that has no heroes, and poorer still is the nation that has heroes and doesn't remember and does not honor them. I think it's my obligation and our obligation to remember the people that made our country safe and made it what it is,' said Niffenegger.
Rowley says it starts with a name, then they track down their service, look for family and other traces the soldiers left throughout their lifetime. Sometimes it takes days, and sometimes weeks.
'There are so many stories here, you know, from the happiest, most harrowing stories to the most tragic,' said Rowley. 'And I think we found a little bit of all of that in over the course of the year.'
The Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, the General Society of the War of 1812 in Iowa, the Sons, Daughters and Children of the American Revolution, and MOLLUS were just some of the organizations that attended and honored their service.
Rowley says veteran associations across the state are all dedicated to maintaining cemeteries and graves as well as recovering those who may have been lost through time. Niffenegger and Rowley are working on recovering an unmarked grave belonging to a World War ll veteran.
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