What coins left on military tombstones mean this Memorial Day

POTTSBORO, Texas (KXII) -Grayson County is gearing up for Memorial Day and the VFW Post 7873, located in Pottsboro is holding services to recognize the men and women who have died while serving our country.

David Kenneweg, Chaplin of the VFW Post 7873 says, “Memorial Day is recognizing those who have fallen in time of war”.

But the VFW Post 7873 is honoring not only the veterans but giving support to the families who live on without their loved ones

153 crosses were presented, “representing family members who’ve lost Veterans in various wars”, says Kenneweg, “it could be Korean, WW2, Vietnam, so forth”.

On may 28, the post will visit the Preston Bend Cemetery.

“We’re going to place flags at the grave sites of Veterans to recognize them and that’s at 9 o’ clock, if anybody is interested in showing up” (Kenneweg).

And if you visit the graves of Veterans who’ve passed, you may see coins sitting on the tombstones.

Each coin has a different meaning.

A penny is left by visitors, a nickel means you trained at boot camp with the veteran, a dime means you served with the veteran in some capacity, and the quarter holds the ultimate meaning, if you were there when the veteran died.

If you see these coins, Kenneweg says, “people should just leave them there so that the family members when they do visit their family they can see that people came and showed due respect”.

Another symbol you should look for on Memorial Day are gold star pendants.

“The parents of those members are considered gold star parents, if you see them give them a hug and just thank them for giving their son or daughter, the ultimate sacrifice”, adds Kenneweg.

Post 7873 will hold their memorial service on May 30 at 11am.

Copyright 2022 KXII. All rights reserved.