Vandalism of Neglect – Replaced and Not Replaced
In Vandalism of Neglect, I highlighted 13 headstones that had “glaring” errors. Of those 13 headstones, only four (4) headstones were corrected by ordering a new stone.
- For 90 years, Frank Allen‘s first name was inscribed “Frark” on his headstone. When the WIDVA ordered the replacement stone to correct his name, his date of birth and wartime service during World War I was left off the stone – perhaps for the next 100 years.
- Edwin Grimm served during WWI and during WWII, but neither war was inscribed on his headstone. When the WIDVA ordered a replacement headstone to correct this error, it was decided not to include his WWI combat unit: Company D, 384th Machine Gun Battalion, a benefit awarded to most of his WWI comrades buried at CWVMC.
- Elwood Guthman served as an infantryman during WWII and went on to serve during Korea and Vietnam. His original headstone was lacking quite a bit of information: a) his service during WWII and Vietnam, b) his WWII combat unit, HQ Company, 133rd Infantry; and, c) his Purple Heart w/ 2 OLCs. When the WIDVA ordered a replacement headstone, it failed to recognize his combat unit and two of the three Purple Hearts.
- Gilman Stordock was a Battalion Sergeant Major during WWI. His rank was incorrectly abbreviated on his headstone until it was replaced after nearly 50 years.
- Paul Krause was a “Saddler” during WWI and served in France. His headstone still shows his rank as “Saddle”.
- Thomas Dalmady was a veteran of the Civil War, who served in Hugh Sterling’s Independent Delaware Infantry. When his headstone was inscribed, his name was inscribed as “Hugh Delmady”. The erroneous headstone remains in place.
- Alois Mand enlisted before Pearl Harbor and fought in several of the biggest battles in the Pacific. Sgt Mand earned the Distinguished Service Cross (second highest award in the Army), Bronze Star, and Purple Heart w/ OLC. None of these medals were inscribed on his headstone. WIDVA has not corrected/replaced the headstone.
- May Seidel‘s headstone inscription does not include her surname. Worse, the inscription states that she was married to her own son, 1Lt Richard Seidel. Lastly, Lt Seidel’s surname is misspelled. The WIDVA has not corrected/replaced her headstone.
- When Annie Smith died at the G.A.R. Veterans Home on 4 May 1909, the Home’s physician lamented on her death record that nothing was known about her except she had arrived the previous night from Milwaukee. Adding to her near-anonymity, her headstone inscription shows she died in in 1912 and that her first name was “Armie” – clearly a misreading of “Annie”. The WIDVA has not corrected/replaced her headstone.
- Martha Larson was the widow of a WWI veteran, so her headstone should state such. Instead, her headstone is inscribed “US Army”, which suggests that she served in the US Army. No evidence of military service has been found. The WIDVA has not corrected/replaced to the headstone.
- Hazel Foreman‘s headstone is inscribed “US Army” like Martha Larson’s stone. No evidence of military service has been found. Her husband, Stanley, served in the US Army. The WIDVA has not corrected/replaced to the headstone.
- Anna Johnson‘s headstone is inscribed “CPL, US Army, WWI”, suggested she served in the Army during WWI. In fact, her husband, Adam Johnson, served as a Corporal during WWI. In her case, we know she could not have served during WWI, because the Army did not enlist women during WWI. The WIDVA has not corrected/replaced to the headstone.
- Sara Case‘s headstone is inscribed “Sarah Chase, 1832-1921”, and the only correct part of the inscription is “Sarah”. Her lifespan was 1822-1911. The WIDVA has not corrected/replaced her headstone.
If nine (9) of the 13 glaringly erroneous headstones were not corrected/replaced, then which other headstones were replaced?
Twenty-Four (24) headstones were replaced because each of them had a non-standard abbreviation: “Bronze Star Mdl” – for Bronze Star Medal. Interestingly, I did not think that any of these headstones needed to be replaced – I simply wanted to point out the problem, so that it would stop.
Strangely, two headstones with the “Mdl” abbreviation were not replaced, those for Frederick Flintz and George Premo.
At least 28 headstones were replaced to correct the abbreviation for the veteran’s rank or to actually change his rank. For example, Charles Heiting’s abbreviated rank was corrected from “CMMM” to “CMOMM”, or Chief Motor Machinists Mate.
And yet, George Smejkal’s abbreviated rank of “MOMM” was not corrected to “MOMM2”.
William Maser retired from the Air Force as a Major, but his headstone is inscribed with “CAPT” and it was not corrected.
John Allen’s headstone remains inscribed “1SCT” rather than “1SGT” for First Sergeant.
Herbert Thompson’s headstone and Walter Krueger’s headstone have no rank in the inscriptions.
Elwood Guthman’s headstone was corrected/replaced in order to add his war service during WWII and Vietnam.
But Willie Pate’s headstone still lacks his rank, branch, and war service during World War II.
At least 22 other headstones lack war service for at least one war.
With a few exceptions, it appears the WIDVA has concentrated its efforts on correcting inscription errors on the most recently installed headstones. The pessimist in me thinks they wanted to correct the errors from their “watch” first, because current WIDVA employees are responsible for these errors. (Also, the older the headstone, the more difficult it is to replace it.) However, the longer a glaring error persists, the more egregious it becomes.
Another anomaly found in the list of corrected/replaced headstones is that on at least three (3) occasions, the WIDVA claimed to be correcting the spouse’s inscription, when in fact they were correcting the veteran’s inscription. Almost certainly, this was done because the veteran had pre-deceased the spouse by a decade or more. It is easier to justify correcting a newer inscription versus an old inscription.