Officials try to learn where seven veterans' tombstones belong
They were being used as a sidewalk when a veterans official found out about them. Publicity of the names has produced no leads.
By Associated Press
Published November 11, 2005
ST. AUGUSTINE - Officials are trying to unravel a mystery involving seven veterans' tombstones, which were discovered two years ago being used as a walkway outside an abandoned mobile home.
Joseph McDermott, the chief veterans services officer in St. Johns County, is trying to find anyone who might know where the headstones came from. He would like to return them to the graves of the men who served their country.
"We just want to do the right thing for our veterans," McDermott said recently. Five of the granite stones are from World War II veterans, one is for a serviceman from the Korean War and one is undetermined. All the men died in the 1980s and 1990s, and the earliest birthdate was 1878.
McDermott said attempts to locate the families or anyone who knows about the headstones have been unsuccessful. He has contacted local funeral homes and veterans officials in Washington.
After publicly disclosing the names in the media in St. Augustine and Jacksonville, McDermott said he has had a few calls, but no results.
A former Jackonsville police officer called him and suggested the stones may have come from a now defunct Jacksonville company that engraved headstones. Tombstones with typos or incorrect information were left sitting outside, the officer told him.
INFORMATION ON THE HEADSTONES
Allen J. Brown, Army private, World War II, 1922-1993.
Steve Btewton (may be misspelled), Army private, World War II, 3-19-1917 - 4-14-1984.
Clarence Dixon, Army corporal, World War II, 9-11-1912 - 2-11-1984.
Thomas Edison Hadley Jr., Army rank unknown, World War II, 10-7-1922 - 12-30-1980.
Isaac Samford Howell, private first class, branch unknown, World War II, 1907-1994.
J.C. Purifoy, Army corporal, Korea, 1930-1993.
James Singletary, Army rank and war unknown, 1878-1981.
Anyone with information is asked to call Joseph McDermott at (904) 823-2463.
