Legion reunites WWI vet footstone with grave

Murray Ledge & Times: Legion reunites WWI vet footstone with grave
Members of the American Legion Post 73 have reunited the abandoned footstone of a World War I veteran with its proper grave. The tombstone was recently located between Apple Tree School and Fern Terrace Lodge on Stadium View Drive.

The federally-issued tombstone identifies Jesse J. Roberts, Private in the U. S. Army during World War I. He was born Oct. 23, 1887, and he died April 9, 1975. Roberts is buried next to his wife, Pattie Beale, in Ivy Cemetery on Ky. 94.

Members of the American Legion held a service Saturday to place the stone at the foot of Roberts’ grave.

Peggy Byczynski, activities director for Fern Terrace, said she noticed the tombstone when some of the geese in the nursing home’s backyard got loose. Byczynski asked Apple Tree School owner Linda Kilpatrick about the tombstone, and learned it had been placed in various locations around the lot for years.

“When I bought the daycare 19 years ago, it was there,” said Kilpatrick. She said she tried for years, without success, to locate the proper owner of the tombstone.

Janice Rose, who owned the Apple Tree School with her husband, Dr. Jack Rose, from 1980-85, said she did not remember seeing the Roberts tombstone at that time.

Byczynski said she then notified Mark Kennedy, Finance, Legal and Service Officer for the local American Legion.

“My dad was a veteran, and my late husband was a veteran. I couldn’t let it just lay here,” she added. “We have people in the nursing home who are veterans, too.”

Through an Internet search, Kennedy was able to determine that Jesse Roberts last resided in Benton. Kennedy said that meant the veteran might still have family in the area. Frank Wells, another American Legion Post 73 member, said he believed that Roberts was a Calloway County mail carrier through at least the late-1950s.

How Roberts’ federal grave marker ended up on Stadium View Drive remains a mystery.

Since the discovery of Roberts’ tombstone, Kennedy has received two more discarded headstones. They identify Lois Alfred Ross and Manuel Carman, both veterans of World War II. Kennedy said he hoped to also match those stones to graves.

Kennedy said increasingly the American Legion in Murray is helping veterans with end-of-life issues. He said many still do not know the federal government will pay for their burial and the burial of a spouse if provided with the proper discharge records. The American Legion will hold a seminar on Veterans Benefits and address burial plans Oct. 21 from 1-4 p.m.

The American Legion Post 73 is located at 310 Bee Creek Drive in Murray. Anyone with information regarding the Ross or Carman tombstones is asked to contact Kennedy at 759-9838 or 752-3333.