TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) – The playing of Taps, the singing of the National Anthem, and folding of the American flag, were just a few of the traditions displayed at Highland Cemetery’s Memorial Day ceremony.
“It’s an honor to come out here and be able to do this for the guys and women that laid down their lives for us to be able to do what we’re doing,” said Cliff Stephens, Commander of the Vigo County Veterans Council.
Stephens has addressed the crowds at this ceremony for the past 15 years and he says he is grateful to see community members take their time to show respect to the men and women who gave everything.
“It’s fantastic to know that I’m not by myself in paying that respect,” Stephens said.
In addition to the ceremony, some folks at the cemetery found other ways to honor the fallen. Glenn Fenwick, a former Staff Sergeant in the United States Army, spent some of his time placing coins on the tombstones of military members. It’s a tradition that Fenwick says was created between the Civil War and World War I.
“A penny shows that someone has been there. A nickel shows that you might have been training in the area with that guy. A dime shows that he served with you in some type of way and a quarter means he died while you were there,” Fenwick says.
Fenwick did place more than a penny on the tombstone of Dale Griffin, an Army Sergeant that was killed in 2009 while serving in Afghanistan.
“In 2009 we had a bad day. We lost Dale and six others,” Fenwick said.
Fenwick says coming out to remember those like Dale who have died in combat is important because these people are more than just friends.
“If you’ve served or you’ve been in that tight knit of a concept, it’s not a person, it’s not an acquaintance, it’s a brother,” Fenwick said.
Fenwick says in most cases the coins that are left on tombstones are picked up by cemetery staff, and it will be used to help fund the cemetery.
