For 20 Years, One Iowa Man Has Made Sure Forgotten Veterans Are Remembered

For the past two decades, Mike Rowley has spent hundreds of hours each year doing something most people never see: making sure veterans who died without marked graves are remembered.

The Central Iowa volunteer has helped identify veterans buried in unmarked graves, contact their families, arrange for official military headstones and install the stones in cemeteries across the state.

So far, Rowley has helped place more than 400 headstones.

His work often begins with research. He searches historical records and cemetery information to identify people whose graves have remained unmarked for decades. Once he confirms a veteran’s identity and service, he works through the process of obtaining a headstone from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Then comes the physical work.

The stones can be extremely heavy, requiring careful transportation and installation. Rowley often works with other volunteers to bring the headstones to remote or difficult-to-reach cemetery sites.

But he says the most meaningful part of the work is seeing the reaction of a veteran’s descendants when the grave finally receives a marker.

Some families had known that an ancestor was buried in a particular cemetery but had never had a proper stone to identify the grave. For others, the discovery has helped reconnect families with stories that had nearly disappeared.

Rowley’s efforts have covered veterans from different periods of American history. His volunteer work has included graves dating back to the Civil War and earlier conflicts, as well as veterans from more recent generations.

He does not consider the work finished simply because a headstone has been installed.

For Rowley, remembering someone is part of preserving the history of an entire community. Every name represents a person who once had a family, friends and a life outside the cemetery.

That belief has kept him going for 20 years.

Even after placing more than 400 headstones, Rowley says he has no plans to stop.

His work is quiet and largely voluntary, but each new marker accomplishes something simple and important: it ensures that one more person’s name will not disappear.

Sources

• Iowa PBS
• Iowa Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War