Memorial Day may have passed, but that doesn’t mean that we should stop paying our respects to our military members, past and present. On Memorial Day, in particular, we honor the men and women who have given their lives to keep our country safe.
If you have ever visited a military cemetery on Memorial Day, it’s a sobering, but inspirational sight. On holidays like Memorial Day, American flags are placed on each grave and the thousands of rows of gravestones and flags is truly a sight to behold. It’s a representation and important reminder of those who have fought for their country and the sacrifice of their families.
One thing you may notice as you pass gravestones in a military cemetery are coins placed on top of the stones. If you don’t understand why they have been placed there you may assume they are simply spare change, but they actually have an important message. A coin placed on a gravestone means that someone has stopped by to pay their respects to a fallen comrade. It is a way to show respect without directly contacting the family and allowing the family privacy.
Each coin placed on the grave shows the family that someone has stopped by the gravesite, and is meant to offer silent anonymous comfort. The different coins have different meanings: A penny simply means that someone visited the grave to pay their respects, nickels show that the person who left the coin trained or was at boot camp with the deceased service member, dimes represent soldiers who served together, while quarters mean that the person who left the coin was there when the deceased was killed. The coins are occasionally collected by cemetery workers and are often used for the upkeep of the cemetery.
Watch the video below for the full explanation. Please like and share this helpful information with family and friends.
