Veteran marker mystery

WAKEMAN — What started out as a group of local residents placing American flags on veterans' graves turned into a bit of a mystery. The group was volunteering on behalf of the Huron County Democratic Party's "Honoring Our Veterans" initiative when they discovered a bronze flag holder meant to decorate the grave of a Persian Gulf War veteran in the Wakeman Township cemetery. A search of nearby graves did not show any graves with birth and death dates that would correspond with a veteran of the 1990s conflict, according to one of the volunteers, Janet Dillon. "We looked all around at the graves nearby and we couldn't find any that had appropriate dates," Dillon said. "But there is no way to tell how far it had flown." The damaged marker appears to have been hit by a lawnmower or another piece of landscaping equipment. The group contacted the Huron County Veterans Services office, which was unable to identify the marker's owner, and are seeking members of the public who might know who it belongs to. The group is currently surveying cemeteries throughout Huron County, attempting to locate graves that do not have a proper marker identifying the veteran's service. "Our intention is to continue surveying as many of the 80 Huron County cemeteries as we can with the help of local veterans who can identify vets whose graves don't indicate their service," Dillon said. "We would also like to involve high school students to work with the vets on surveying or headstone cleaning." Anyone who has information on the bronze marker can contact the newspaper at tburton@tandemnetwork.com, which can help parties with knowledge of the marker get in touch with those in possession of it.