Fort Sill Soldiers, Cub Scouts, VFW vets 'coin' headstones

By Capt. Jean Tomte, D Battery, 1st Battalion, 79th Field ArtilleryNovember 15, 2018

Coin
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT SILL, Oklahoma (Nov. 15, 2018) -- If you go to a local cemetery, you may see little coins that have been placed on gravestones. The coins are not there by chance.

On this Veterans Day weekend, a group of volunteers gathered to pay tribute to servicemen and servicewomen, and to those who paid the ultimate sacrifice, by placing 5,700 pennies on 5,700 veterans' gravesites at local cemeteries.

The volunteers were composed of Elgin Cub Scout Pack 4008, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1193, and Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 79th Field Artillery.

Our purpose was to serve the community by placing pennies on the graves of those who came before us. They have earned our undying gratitude, and we will never forget their sacrifices.

Traditionally, coins are placed on the upper left corner of the headstone, but this depends on the shape of the headstone.

Each coin has a particular meaning since it is actually a message left to the family of the deceased. To better understand this, we must go back to the presumed origin of this practice and follow its evolution.

There are many different sources on this subject, this is what these pieces correspond to:

1 cent means to the family that you have come to visit the service member's grave.

5 cents denotes that you have been stationed together.

10 cents conveys that the deceased died in combat.

25 cents implies that you have served alongside a fallen comrade.

Cub Scout troop leader Daren Hurst was among the volunteers.

"The lesson learned from placing the pennies on the graves was to show the boys that the purpose of scouting is to give back to the community, and most importantly pay reverence to all veterans dead or alive," Hurst said.

Coins are removed every three months to give families time to "receive" the message, but this can vary from one cemetery to another. Similarly, grave caretakers pickup immediately following Memorial Day, the day when the graves of service members are most visited. The funds collected are generally used for the maintenance of the cemetery or sometimes to pay for the care or burial of the poorest veterans.

Dwight Jefferson, VFW Post 1193 president, participated in the memorial.

"The importance of placing coins on gravesites this morning was to let people know that when they come to the cemetery, veterans are not forgotten," Jefferson said.