Today we took a drive to pay respects at the cemetery, family members and friends.
I used to take long power walks through the cemetery, it was hilly and very beautiful. There was this one little road I used to walk by. A young man, a soldier was buried there. He was only 19 when he died over in Iraq. I had read somewhere about leaving a penny at the tombstone to show you visited the grave. So everyday the summer before last I left quite a few pennies.
Anyway, One day when I went by to pay my respects and all of the penny were still there. I left another one. Just as I was leaving his Father pulled up and had tears in his eyes. He said he watched me approach his sons grave and leave the penny. He always wondered who had done that and he thanked me. We spoke awhile and I thanked him for sharing Andrews story.
That was a year ago. Today I left 2 new penny's at Andrews...ALL of the other penny are still there and today I even noticed a couple nickels. I even walked over and left some penny at some other soldier graves
I thought I would share this :
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 soldier when he was killed.
Perhaps you already knew of this tradition, maybe not....but its not to late to go to a cemetery today and pay your respects. The soldiers family will appreciate it. I know Andrews did.
God Bless
