MANSFIELD – The Richland County Veterans Service Commission paid the ultimate tribute to local veterans of the past by beautifying their final resting place.
On Tuesday, the commission officially rededicated the Veterans Honor Grounds at Mansfield Cemetery against a backdrop of perfectly aligned granite headstones. Commission President Doug Theaker said the goal was to make the grounds look like a miniature Arlington Cemetery.
“This place was a disaster,” Theaker said, recalling the look of the grounds previously. “And it was terribly embarrassing. How did we allow this to happen?”
According to Tony DeLong, executive director of the Veterans Service Commission, more than 500 gravestones were replaced and realigned at the Grounds. The four-week project took a total of 2,000 man hours completed by contractor VetsUSA, a “service-disabled veteran-owned small business.”
Theaker praised VetsUSA owner Stephen Worthington on Monday for a job well done, and each member of the VetsUSA team was given a token of appreciation.
“There’s no way we can possibly thank you for your dedication, commitment, compassion, and your hard work,” Theaker said. “A work ethic still exists in America, and these guys prove it.”
Theaker also noted that the cemetery project was entirely funded by the Veterans Service Commission, and did not use one dime of taxpayer dollars. Plots in the cemetery were sold at $240 apiece, raising around $78,000 to replace the headstones as well as for maintenance and indigent burials.
DeLong noted Mansfield was the first private cemetery that VetsUSA has worked. For all the veterans present on Tuesday, the project was more than worth it.
“With all my heart and all my soul, I thank God I live in America,” Theaker said. “This by far has to be the greatest nation in the world – Why? Because of these people behind me, these people who have been laid to rest.”
