Dedication of 36 New VA Headstones & Honoring all WWI Veterans
This Dedication marks the end of a 3 year long Monumental Challenge project to provide new Veterans Affairs (VA) memorials for 100% of all eligible previously unmarked veterans in the 3 military sections of Morris Hill Cemetery. These veterans are a part of US military history that stretches from Lexington, Mass, where the American Revolution began in 1775, to the Civil War (Silent Camp), Indian War, Sp-American War, WWI (Field of Honor 1), WWII (Field of Honor 2). and on….Upon Pioneer Chapter research for approval of “proof of service” the VA provided these memorials, 77 in total, at no cost, and the generous Sponsors, through the Sponsor-An-Unmarked-Veteran fundraiser, covered the cost of installation.
A highlight of this Dedication ceremony will be the reading of the story of young Pvt Hubert E. Zumwalt. The Pvt was among the first of 4 “Boise boys” to lose their lives in France during WWI. This young American hero was raised in a loving “real” Idaho family in Warren, ID. He died in 1918 in Belleau Wood, France at the age of 21 years, and was repatriated in 1921. He was a recipient of the Purple Heart award.
The City of Boise “set aside” the land for Field of Honor 1 in 1921 for the veterans of WWI. The first burial was on June 5, 1921 with 1000 in attendance, horse drawn caissons and full military honors. The Pioneer Chapter with the help of Boise City Parks & Recreation, as well as many nonprofit groups, will keep these memorials clean and level on a regular basis in the years to come. Broken memorials will also be replaced. Through this stewardship these veterans won’t be forgotten.
During the fundraising part of this project Pioneer Chapter was often asked, “why don’t these veterans have memorials?”
The answer is the same today as it was over 100 years ago:
- There was no one to do the research for proof of service and complete the VA application. Record keeping was done by hand years ago, almost illegible.
- There was no one to pay for installation. Many of these veterans passed while living in the Soldiers Home and had no known relatives.
Together Pioneer Chapter and these Sponsors provided these missing pieces. Among the new VA headstones are 7 Unknown soldiers originally interred in Old Fort Boise and reinterred in Silent Camp.