Elmwood Cemetery History

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Volunteers lead drive to mark vets’ graves

CHOCTAW — Three-war veteran Carl Thompson is blunt about why he is leading an effort to decorate veterans’ graves this weekend at Elmwood Cemetery.
    “I watched the cemetery over the years, and knew there were some veterans buried there,” Thompson said Monday. “But until last Memorial Day there was never any kind of veterans ceremony or observance there.
    “I thought it was shameful,” said Thompson, who served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam during his 30-year stint in the Air Force.
    So Saturday afternoon, Thompson and a group of volunteers plan to begin placing flags on the graves of all who fought for their country and are buried at the cemetery.
    “We’re trying to decorate the whole cemetery,” the retired airman said.
    Thompson said he wants to ensure “a really good display of flags” at Elmwood Cemetery for those who visit loved ones’ graves Sunday for Veterans Day, or on Monday, when many government entities observe the holiday.
    Last spring, after a bit of research, Thompson learned there were 109 graves of veterans at the small cemetery on the east side of Choctaw Road, about a quarter-mile south of NE 23.
    The 80-year-old retiree resolved to help the cemetery do a better job of honoring those who served their country on Memorial Day and on Veterans Day.

With help from some other interested people and “old soldiers,” Thompson saw to it that each veteran’s grave was adorned with a 12- by-18-inch American flag for Memorial Day.
    The volunteers also conducted a patriotic observance at the cemetery and made plans to buy bronze commemorative grave markers for veterans buried there, starting with the Civil War graves.
    Four of the veterans’ graves date from the Civil War and 18 from Word War I, Thompson noted.
    “Some of the original sandstone markers on the Civil War graves have deteriorated to such a degree that they really need to be replaced,” he said.
    Over the next year or so, the Choctaw volunteers hope to place bronze commemorative markers on the graves of veterans who served in World War II, Korea, Vietnam and Gulf Wars, he said.
Donations sought
    Choctaw volunteers are collecting donations to pay for flags and bronze markers to decorate veterans’ graves at Elmwood Cemetery on holidays.
    The group also hopes eventually to build a veterans memorial at the cemetery, group spokesman Carl Thompson said.
    Bronze grave markers for veterans who served in World War I, World War II, Korea or Vietnam cost $32.50 each.
    The volunteers also are hoping to established an Avenue of Flags at a cost of $30 per flag.
    For more information, call Thompson at 769-4500, or write him at 940 Hidden Valley Circle, Choctaw, OK 73020.
    The group also is interested in knowing the names of every veteran buried at Elmwood Cemetery “so we haven’t missed one, and also whether any Gold Star mothers are interred there,” said Thompson. Starting with World War I, the federal government began presenting Gold Stars to mothers who lost a son in war.
    Thompson said the Choctaw group eventually would like to see a memorial commemorating all the wars where U.S. troops fought built at Elmwood Cemetery.
    “I guess I’m trying to get a nice resting place for myself,” Thompson said, with a chuckle.