Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist

Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist
Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Md Troopers Assoc #20 & Westminster Md Fire Dept Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist

Sunday, January 23, 2022

Coins left on tombstones


Coins left on tombstones

Author unknown - from multiple media sources.

American Legion Obituaries – Click here to read the obituaries of members of Carroll Post 31 American Legion in Westminster who have passed away: https://kevindayhoffwestgov-net.blogspot.com/search/label/American%20Legion%20Obituary 

Have you ever been in a cemetery and saw coins laying on a tombstone? There is actually a reason behind it. 

While visiting some cemeteries you may notice that headstones marking certain graves have coins on them, left by previous visitors to the grave. 

These coins have distinct meanings when left on the headstones of those who gave their life while serving in America's military, and these meanings vary depending on the denomination of coin. 

A coin left on a headstone or at the grave site is meant as a message to the deceased soldier's family that someone else has visited the grave to pay respect. 

Leaving a penny at the grave means simply that you visited. 

A nickel indicates that you and the deceased trained at boot camp together, while a dime means you served with him in some capacity. 

By leaving a quarter at the grave, you are telling the family that you were with the solider when he was killed. 

According to tradition, the money left at graves in national cemeteries and state veterans cemeteries is eventually collected, and the funds are put toward maintaining the cemetery or paying burial costs for indigent veterans. 

In the US, this practice became common during the Vietnam War, due to the political divide in the country over the war; leaving a coin was seen as a more practical way to communicate that you had visited the grave than contacting the soldier's family, which could devolve into an uncomfortable argument over politics relating to the war. 

Some Vietnam veterans would leave coins as a "down payment" to buy their fallen comrades a beer or play a hand of cards when they would finally be reunited. 

The tradition of leaving coins on the headstones of military men and women can be traced to as far back as the Roman Empire. 

Hat Tip: Rachel Krumheuer Walter



+++ Dayhoff Carroll +++

Kevin Dayhoff for Westminster Authority Caroline Babylon, Treasurer.

Carroll County Times: www.tinyurl.com/KED-CCT
Baltimore Sun Carroll Eagle: http://tinyurl.com/KED-Sun

Facebook Dayhoff for Westminster: https://www.facebook.com/DayhoffforWestminster/
Facebook: Kevin Earl Dayhoff: https://www.facebook.com/kevindayhoff

Dayhoff for Westminster: www.kevindayhoff.city
Dayhoff Soundtrack: www.kevindayhoff.net
Dayhoff Carroll: www.kevindayhoff.org

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.