CHOCTAW
— Three-war veteran Carl Thompson is blunt about why he is leading an
effort to decorate veterans’ graves this weekend at Elmwood
Cemetery.
“I watched the cemetery over the years, and knew there were some veterans
buried there,” Thompson said Monday. “But until last Memorial Day there
was never any kind of veterans ceremony or observance there.
“I thought it was shameful,” said Thompson, who served in World War II,
Korea and Vietnam during his 30-year stint in the Air Force.
So Saturday afternoon, Thompson and a group of volunteers plan to begin
placing flags on the graves of all who fought for their country and are buried
at the cemetery.
“We’re trying to decorate the whole cemetery,” the retired airman
said.
Thompson said he wants to ensure “a really good display of flags” at Elmwood
Cemetery for those who visit loved ones’ graves Sunday for Veterans Day,
or on Monday, when many government entities observe the holiday.
Last spring, after a bit of research, Thompson learned there were 109 graves of veterans at the
small cemetery on the east side of Choctaw
Road, about a quarter-mile south of NE 23.
The 80-year-old retiree resolved to help the cemetery do a better job of
honoring those who served their country on Memorial Day and on Veterans Day.
With help from some other interested people and “old soldiers,” Thompson
saw to it that each veteran’s grave was adorned with a 12- by-18-inch
American flag for Memorial Day.
The volunteers also conducted a patriotic observance at the cemetery and
made plans to buy bronze commemorative grave markers for veterans buried
there, starting with the Civil War graves.
Four of the veterans’ graves date from the Civil War and 18 from Word War
I, Thompson noted.
“Some of the original sandstone markers on the Civil War graves have
deteriorated to such a degree that they really need to be replaced,” he
said.
Over the next year or so, the Choctaw
volunteers hope to place bronze commemorative markers on the graves of
veterans who served in World War II, Korea, Vietnam and Gulf Wars, he said.
Donations sought
Choctaw
volunteers are collecting donations to pay for flags and bronze markers to
decorate veterans’ graves at Elmwood
Cemetery on holidays.
The group also hopes eventually to build a veterans memorial at the
cemetery, group spokesman Carl Thompson said.
Bronze grave markers for veterans who served in World War I, World War II,
Korea or Vietnam cost $32.50 each.
The volunteers also are hoping to established an Avenue of Flags at a cost
of $30 per flag.
For more information, call Thompson at 769-4500, or write him at 940 Hidden
Valley Circle, Choctaw
,
OK 73020.
The group also is interested in knowing the names of every veteran buried at
Elmwood
Cemetery “so we haven’t missed one, and also whether any Gold Star
mothers are interred there,” said Thompson. Starting with World War I, the
federal government began presenting Gold Stars to mothers who lost a son in
war.
Thompson said the Choctaw
group eventually would like to see a memorial commemorating all the wars
where U.S. troops fought built at Elmwood
Cemetery.
“I guess I’m trying to get a nice resting place for myself,” Thompson
said, with a chuckle.