I heard part this a couple of times on TV on Memorial Day. I wasn’t quick enough to jot it down, but Gwen found it on the internet for me.
Have you ever been in a cemetery and saw coins on headstones? A coin left on a headstone lets the deceased soldier’s family know that somebody stopped by to pay their respects:
-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 you were there when that veteran died.
The tradition of leaving coins on the headstones of military men and women can be traced as far back as the Roman Empire. Soldiers would insert a coin into the mouth of a fallen soldier to ensure they could cross the “River Styx” into the afterlife. In the US, this practice became common during the Vietnam War, due to the political divide in the country over the war, leaving a coin was seen as a more practical way of communicating that you had visited the grave than contacting the soldier’s family which could evolve into an uncomfortable argument over the politics relating to the war.
What happens to the coins? They are collected from the grave sites monthly and the money is used for cemetery maintenance, the cost for burial of the soldiers or for the care of indigent soldiers.
– From Charlotte Ann Covert Arnold, forwarded from Will Shumate: “Something to ponder as you plan your weekend and go about your life: Arlington National Cemetery is 624 acres of WHY YOU’RE STILL FREE.
God bless America. KL

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