<\/p>\n
Next to a bucket of tools, bags of concrete and a water canister, dirt was piled into a wheelbarrow as shovels scored a headstone scheme at the Cortez Cemetery. A subsequent thrust into the ground ended with a clank as the metal edge of the spade met stone.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ground is hard, hard, hard,\u201d said Dick Donahoo, scraping the blade along the bottom of the 10-inch-deep formation.<\/p>\n
Although the result may not be as eye-catching and precisely aligned as grave markers placed at Arlington National Cemetery, Donahoo\u2019s work is just as important as Memorial Day approaches.<\/p>\n
\u201cNorth to South, they\u2019re pretty lined up,\u201d he said pointing to rows of tombstones. \u201cEast and West, not so much, as you can see.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 2007, Donahoo placed his first veteran\u2019s memorial to mark his father\u2019s grave at the Cortez Cemetery. Since, he\u2019s volunteered alongside his longtime friend Larry Claycomb, and together they\u2019ve set about 70 headstones for military veterans at cemeteries in Montezuma County.<\/p>\n
He coordinates with the American Legion to verify plot sites and the Veterans Administration to obtain the memorials.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot long after my dad\u2019s marker, I started doing others, he said.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just a little digging and shoveling.\u201d<\/p>\n
Digging a little deeper, Claycomb and Donahoo each said the work gives them time to socialize and remember friends who\u2019ve gone before them.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe turn an hourlong project into a two- or three- hour ordeal,\u201d said Claycomb. \u201cIt\u2019s a good way for us to stay connected.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a personal connection to so many of the people buried here,\u201d interrupted Donahoo, \u201cbut it doesn\u2019t make us sad. It makes us feel good.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re doing something for the veterans and their families,\u201d said Claycomb as Donahoo nodded in agreement. \u201cIt\u2019s just a way for us to give back. It means a lot to the families, so it means a lot to us too.\u201d<\/p>\n
The homage has even altered Claycomb\u2019s outlook when adhering to his father\u2019s dying wishes 40 years ago. A World War II veteran like Donahoo\u2019s father, Bill Claycomb didn\u2019t want a memorial gravesite. His ashes were scattered.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe didn\u2019t want anyone coming to a hole in the ground and being sad,\u201d Claycomb said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut families need a place where they can go to memorialize their loved ones,\u201d Donahoo said.<\/p>\n
Friends for more than five decades, Claycomb has reached the same conclusion, and a military marker for his father is planned later this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese headstones are here for the people left behind,\u201d said Claycomb. \u201cIt\u2019s a memorial, literally.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re gone, but they certainly aren\u2019t forgotten,\u201d said Donahoo.<\/p>\n
The marble and granite gravestones weigh more than 200 pounds each. Donahoo said the hardest aspect was ensuring the markers didn\u2019t crack and break during installation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey feel every bit of 250 pounds,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t throw them around,\u201d Claycomb joked.<\/p>\n
Donahoo, who served in the U.S. Coast Guard from June 1969 to March 1973, described the endeavor as a means to acknowledge the sacrifice and patriotism of veterans.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt turns out, many, many of the veterans we\u2019re doing this for; we know,\u201d Donahoo said. \u201cIt makes it more personal.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s lots and lots of stories out here,\u201d he added. \u201cIt makes our work more interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n
When Claycomb is unable to assist, family members of deceased veterans often times pitch in to help, Donahoo said. He recalled one family who brought lawn chairs and a picnic to watch a headstone be set.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey sat there under that shade tree,\u201d he said, \u201cwhile the son-in-law helped me. It\u2019s nice to visit with the families, and get to know the people we\u2019re trying to help.\u201d<\/p>\n
Neither Donahoo nor Claycomb charge fees for materials or labor, but many families do make voluntary donations, which help to cover expenses.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn one word, I\u2019d have to describe the families as grateful,\u201d Donahoo said. \u201cThey\u2019ve been very generous.\u201d<\/p>\n
Donahoo, 68, a retired school teacher, and Claycomb, 69, who retired from Indian Health Services, have set a goal to install a total of 100 headstones.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been doing 10 or so a year, so another three to four years, and we\u2019ll call it quits,\u201d said Donahoo.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to have to train some replacements,\u201d said Claycomb.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe enjoy it, but we\u2019ll be ready to pass the baton,\u201d said Donahoo.<\/p>\n