First headstones for veterans' unmarked graves slated to arrive next month

Aug. 19--U.S. military veterans who have been laid to rest in cemeteries across Kern County number in the tens of thousands.

More than 500 of those graves -- and likely hundreds more -- have never been graced by a headstone or marker. Instead, these anonymous veterans rest with no name or identification, no date of birth or death, just a blank patch of grass.

Jim La Mar, president of Greenlawn Funeral Homes and Cemeteries, is doing something about it -- with help from others. And the plan is about to bear fruit.

"It's a phenomenal thing they have offered to do for these veterans," Josh Dhanens, director of the Kern County Veterans Service Department, said of La Mar and his team.

According to Dhanens, the first wave of headstones numbering more than 20 is expected to be delivered to Greenlawn in mid- to late September. Many more will follow.

"These markers should be installed in time for Veterans Day," said Jeffrey "Al" Goines, of VFW Auxiliary Post 97 in Bakersfield, one of a number of veteran advocates who have been pressing for a solution to the problem.

No one knows how many veteran graves in Kern County are unmarked. But La Mar knows exactly how many are at Greenlawn Northeast and Greenlawn Southwest.

Because he had them counted.

Of the 8,886 veteran graves at the two cemeteries, 556 are unmarked, a number that stunned organizers, as it turned out to be hundreds more than early estimates.

Nevertheless, Greenlawn and its parent company have committed to cover the cost of fees and installation for all 556 unmarked graves.

The cost of the markers will be covered by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, which furnishes at no charge a headstone for the unmarked grave of any deceased eligible veteran in any cemetery around the world, regardless of their date of death.

But it's not as easy as simply requesting the markers. That's where Dhanens and his team have been invaluable, La Mar said.

They are providing help by researching and accessing documents required by the VA.

"We have have access others don't have," Dhanens said. "We can request documents from the VA other folks can't."

Departments in the county of Kern have helped locate death certificates required by some branches of the armed forces, Dhanens said.

"This has really become a community effort," he said.

Five hundred fifty-six graves covered only by green grass. Five hundred fifty-six military veterans with no markers on their graves, no names to identify them.

It's a tragedy that is about to be turned into a triumph, La Mar said.

As he searched through Greenlawn's old files, he found military discharge papers and even photographs of some of the deceased vets, some faded with time or reflecting eras that have long passed.

"All of a sudden, it's not an unknown stone, it's a person," he said.

"I don't believe in ghosts," he said. "But if they could reach out, I think they would thank us."

Dhanens and La Mar both said they hope other cemeteries in Kern County and across the nation will examine their own records and join in this movement begun in Bakersfield to right a great wrong.

"To identify and honor all the men and women who have served," Dhanens said.

It's the least we can do. It's what they deserve.

Steven Mayer can be reached at 661-395-7353. Follow him on Facebook and on Twitter: @semayerTBC.

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