Why This Iowa Man Has Placed More Than 400 Headstones on Unmarked Veterans' Graves

[Mike Rowley] There's an old quote that says there's three deaths.

The first phase is when life leaves the body.

The second phase is when you're interred in your final resting spot.

And the third and final phase is the last time your name is spoken.

I just think everybody makes a mark, and sometimes their impact isn't understood until much later.

Or maybe never.

But there should be an opportunity to see what they've done.

Walking in the cemeteries, not only do you see the history, but all of a sudden you you see an empty grave and you wonder why isn't that person marked?

If it's in a military section, you think, well, they're eligible for a stone.

Why not?

I never intended to do as many as I have.

I thought if I could mark one guy or five guys, it would be a way to remember them.

So I grew up in Des Moines you know, middle class, I guess, in the in the 60s.

I was born in 57.

One of the things that impacted my childhood is my father was a World War Two veteran, and he came back from from the war, but he died of a of a service related situation in 1965.

I was eight years old then, you know, maybe a result of that, we went to cemeteries a lot.

John Montgomery is the individual that will be putting the stone in today.

As you can see, he was in the War of 1812.

But a lot of these guys, their service was just a small part of their life.

John was also a judge.

He was also a preacher.

So, had a very colorful and very full life.

And and, his grave will finally be marked in Boone, Iowa today.

We find unmarked veterans graves.

And if we can get permission from the local cemetery and the family, we mark their graves with a stone from the VA.

They're all eligible for it.

And us doing that is just a small part to complete their lives.

I find a veteran that might not be marked.

I research to prove their military service.

Then we get all the documentation together.

We contact the cemetery.

The cemetery says yes.

If you can get the stone will allow it to put in.

We contact the family through Ancestry.com or different things.

They usually give approval.

Then we submitted to the VA.

Typically it's about 2 to 3 months.

And then once they approve it, it's another month to deliver to your house.

So I throw it in the back of the car, take it to the cemetery and go put it in.

You know, we probably put our first stone in maybe 20 years ago, but we really ramped it up and started doing a lot of, around 2019, 2018, after I had retired, I had a little more time.

You know, I never kept count of the number of different cemeteries, but I'd say we're probably near, 40 or 50 cemeteries and, and probably, 20 or 30 counties across the state.

It's always an honor to remember a forgotten veteran.

And I know people always ask us sometimes, why do you worry about putting down a stone for somebody that died 150, 175 years ago?

I think it's not only important to honor the veteran, but as a real show to their families and their descendants that they're still cared for and thought of.

So these ones that are four inches thick are about 240 pounds.

I think it's also very, significant to the people that are active military and the younger people.

It gives them a real sense and place that, hey, these guys served like I served today.

But they did it 150 years ago, and they're still being remembered.

So maybe what I do is important.

I started out with a goal of five.

I don't even have a number anymore.

As long as I'm healthy and and can do it.

I hope to do so.

Nobody should really be forgotten.

This is just such a an easy way, and hopefully it encourages other people to realize they could do the same thing.