ARMOUR, S.D. (AP) - Two Civil War veterans were given proper headstones on Wednesday, decades after their deaths.
More than 30 people attended the event at Pleasant Ridge Cemetery. Douglas County Veteran Service Officer Fred Kuil along with the South Dakota Department of Veteran Affairs dedicated the headstones to the late veterans Chris Schroder and Joseph Chamberlain, who both resided in the Armour area. The headstones were complete with markings indicating their service to the U.S. during the war, according to the Daily Republic (https://bit.ly/2fmIlib).
Kuil said this was first time to his awareness that Douglas County was dedicating a veteran’s headstone.
“These men knew patriotism in ways we likely never will,” Kuil said. “These men were of high honor and deserve to be recognized.”
The idea for the project was introduced when family members of the late veterans voiced their disappointment in the gravestones’ lack of words. Kuil fundraised $800 over about eight months for the new headstones, which “aren’t fancy, but they’re something,” he said.
After the ceremony, members of the 1st Infantry of Ft. Randall celebrated by firing a cannon.
“We added (the cannon) because it makes it interesting -something special,” Kuil said. “The whole thing about anything like this is you’re trying to keep patriotism going, especially with the younger people who hear about it but don’t understand much about what it really means. This jumps out at them, I think.” Some students from Armour Elementary School attended the event as well.
Chamberlain was a member of the Ohio National Guard, and Schroder was enlisted in the Union Army.
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Information from: The Daily Republic, https://www.mitchellrepublic.com
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