Onondaga County Veterans
Memorial Cemetery
The Storykeepers
How do we honor our Veterans?
Historically,
veterans, such as the many Military Tract veterans,
were buried with family where they settled after the Revolutionary War.
Sometimes their deeds were on their headstones,
but usually later generations remembered them by placing a special
flag holder to remember their service.
Others were plowed under
And sometimes we forget.
At the Old Lodi Cemetery,
several Revolutionary War veterans are interred here.
None of their markers are still standing.
Some War of 1812 veterans who served and made it home
are buried with their loved ones.
And some were buried among strangers.
Some Civil War veterans were buried near markers
that remember their service.
And others are marked by the community
they came from.
There are the almost forgotten wars
like the Mexican War
And the Spanish War
And then there are the graves of those who
lost their lives in service to their country
And died so close to peace 😔
But Onondaga County
did not have once central place
to remember those that had served upon their death...
until 1986.
"Formally dedicated on May 30, 1987, the Onondaga County Veterans Memorial Cemetery honors Onondaga County residents and family members who dedicated portions of their lives to the military and defense of our nation. Since the first burial of decorated World War II Navy veteran Leo McInerney on June 11, 1986, the cemetery has performed services for more than 5,000 service members from the Army, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, and Air Force, including visionary Onondaga County Legislators Jack Haley and Jim Salanger as well as legendary paratrooper/Syracuse University football coach Ben Schwartzwalder."
The adjacent cemetery "Loomis Hill Cemetery"
bears this name and
is where people are buried today
at the county's expense.
Now their stories,
like a library,
are kept in one place for people
to remember and honor.
Here at the
Veterans Cemetery,
Veterans are buried with honors.
Their spouses can be buried with them
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and so can any minor children or
disabled dependent adult children.
There is a new chapel that can
accommodate a small
private funeral.
Laid out in rows, with flush head stones in the style of memorial park,
Like a library of lives with books in stone,
each person has story
worth remembering
in both their military and civilian lives
There are Veterans here from all branches:
Army
Air Force
Marines
Coast Guard
WWII
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Korea
Vietnam
Persian Gulf
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to Afghanistan & Iraq
And even a WAAC!
A walk through here you will find different ways of remembering:
Chimes:
Flowers in green times:
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Sometimes a flower is chosen because it was the flower that made them smile in life
other times it has a deeper special meaning:
and Wreaths in times of white:
(Pic by John Kucko)
Read more about the Wreaths Across America Project:
This dates to ancient times as a way to signify
that someone cared enough to stop by...
...that they had not been forgotten 💗
Some more about this lovely gesture:
Other times,
coins are left.
Each coin on the grave can hold a special meaning.
A coin left on a headstone lets
the deceased soldier’s family know
that somebody stopped by to pay their respect.
A penny means you visited.
A nickel means you and the deceased veteran trained at boot camp together.
A dime means you and the deceased veteran served together in some capacity.
A quarter is very significant because it means that you were there when that veteran died.
A simple way to make it known,
that a veteran
and their
service
has not been
forgotten.
Walking through here is a lesson in
history and the the brave men and women in times of war:
Those that earned a Purple Heart
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Bronze Star with Valor and Oak Leaf Cluster
The Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry and Silver Star
And one who endured being a
Prisoner of War
And then on Memorial Day,
Special tribute is given to
the Gold Star Mothers
who lost a son or daughter in
who lost a son or daughter in
service to our country 😔
https://www.goldstarmoms.com/
You'll find people of different faiths
Christian
Jewish
Muslim
Buddhist
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and none..
aka Atheists
More about headstone symbols found on military graves:
https://www.cem.va.gov/hmm/emblems.asp
https://www.cem.va.gov/hmm/emblems.asp
But for all their differences,
what they shared in common
is
that they served our nation!
Every year on the Sunday before Memorial Day,
The county holds a special service to honor those
who have died,
especially those in the past year.
The solemn ceremony
is a way to respectfully thank those
who have served in the many branches of our military.
Each marker here represents
Someone who served
or someone who prayed they would come home safely
And with the playing of "Taps",
Everyone is reminded once again
how thin the line is that
military families walk between
tears shed at happy reunion
and
tears shed by the graveside.
So why do we remember?
Because they were people just like us!
And the next generation
needs to know them...
not just as s soldier or sailor...
but as Grandpa
Papa
and Beloved Husband
with hopes, dreams,
hobbies,
and a life well lived.
Even if they never met them,
or barely remember doing so,
it is part of our history:
One that needs to be passed down to the
next generation of
family chroniclers.
On September 2nd,
My grandfather would have celebrated his
107th Birthday.
He told us he never wanted to live that long.
He had lived a good life.
He was ready to meet his Maker.
11 year later, his wife joined him, once again by his side.
And now I bring my children
so they will know
and carry on their stories
long after I am gone.
I met this man when I visited last.
He waved me over.
Seemed to want to talk.
"My wife's buried here!
One day I'll join her..."
"...But Wednesday, I am going to the fair."
He had stopped by to say hi to her.
But he knew he still had stuff to do here above ground.
He served in Korea.
And one day,
he will join her here
with the thousands of others
whose stories need to be told.
Train the next generation to be the
STORYKEEPERS...
to listen
to care
to carry on
so that no one gets forgotten.
This piece captures
it all beautifully:
"Have you ever thought about this?
In 100 years like in 2123
we will all be buried with our relatives and friends.
Strangers will live in our homes we fought so hard to build,
and they will own everything we have today.
All our possessions will be unknown and unborn,
including the car we spent a fortune on,
and will probably be scrap,
preferably in the hands of an unknown collector.
Our descendants will hardly or hardly know who we were,
nor will they remember us.
How many of us know our grandfather's father?
After we die, we will be remembered for a few more years,
then we are just a portrait on someone's bookshelf,
and a few years later our history, photos
and deeds disappear in history's oblivion.
We won't even be memories.
If we paused one day to analyze these questions,
perhaps we would understand how ignorant
and weak the dream to achieve it all was.
If we could only think about this, surely our approaches,
our thoughts would change, we would be different people.
Always having more, no time for what's really valuable in this life.
I'd change all this to live and enjoy the walks I've never taken,
these hugs I didn't give,
these kisses for our children and our loved ones,
these jokes we didn't have time for.
Those would certainly be the most beautiful moments to remember,
after all they would fill our lives with joy.
And we waste it day after day with greed, greed and intolerance."
~Anonymous
Go be that person
today...
today...
because in the end,
that's all we really have
anyways
💗
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