Honoring our dad, a Naval veteran, at Rock Island National Cemetery

Following Rich’s dad’s death, Henry Patterson, in 2023, we received a veteran’s flag from the funeral home honoring Dad’s service in WWII. He served in the Navy and participated in D-Day in Normandy, France, and the Okinawa invasions. But, we faced a dilemma.

Not able to fly it at home, we wanted it displayed at a place that honored Dad and fellow veterans. Although many cemeteries and veterans’ organizations accept and fly these special flags, we wanted Dad’s to go to a National Veteran Cemetery. There are 156 of them located in 42 states. Iowa’s only one is in Keokuk, but the Rock Island National Cemetery is closer to Cedar Rapids.

“We would be honored to receive your Dad’s flag and fly it on the Avenue of Flags each Memorial Day,” said Matt Tomes, cemetery director.

We drove to Rock Island in mid-June to give Dad’s flag to the cemetery. We made a day of it when we discovered that Rock Island is steeped in history, making it a fascinating place to visit. We could even have fished or played golf there. Instead, we absorbed as much history as we could, and we’ll plan to return to see more.

After gifting Dad’s flag to Tomes, we strolled through thousands of graves marked with identical white headstones made of Vermont marble. About 29,000 people are buried there with frequent new burials. Names inscribed on stones honor veterans of all military branches and, often, their spouses and dependents.

Our walk took us to an area with hundreds of gravestones with peaked crowns in contrast to the rounded crowns in other areas. We were at the Confederate Cemetery. Many southern soldiers were incarcerated at a Prisoner of War camp on the island. Those who died were honorably buried with graves marked with headstones shaped differently than nearby Union ones.

The island’s tie to the military began in 1816 when Fort Armstrong was established during the Black Hawk War. George Davenport soon arrived and worked as a sutler. Two years later he quit, started his own prosperous store and soon constructed his mansion on the island. His friend, Antoine Le Claire, founded a nearby town across the water in Iowa. He named it for his friend, even though the merchant Davenport lived on nearby Rock Island in Illinois. (LeClaire, Iowa, is noted for the “American Pickers,” a destination in itself.)

On April 22, 1856, the first railroad bridge to span the giant river was completed at Rock Island. Just 15 days later, the steamboat Effie Alton crashed into it and sank. The accident spawned a famous lawsuit pitting railroads against steamboats. A young attorney, Abraham Lincoln, successfully defended the railroad and gained national exposure.

The Rock Island Arsenal was created by Congress in 1862 and soon began producing goods needed by the Union Army. The strategic island also functioned as a prisoner camp and cemetery, as well as a transportation hub.

Today, Rock Island is the headquarters of the First U.S. Army, the Rock Island Arsenal, a lock and dam, remains of the old 1856 Bridge, barracks that housed 20,000 POWs, a golf course and many of the amenities of a modern town. While on the island, we felt the strong military presence. Although Rich served at a different base, the presence of military architecture, signage and soldiers brought Army memories back to him.

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Security is tight, but there’s plenty to see

Because it’s an active military installation, all visitors must pass through security at the entry point from Moline, Illinois. It took us about 20 minutes to present identification, have a background check done and be issued a pass good for a year. Bring identification, like your driver’s license with REAL ID designation. The security staff wished us a pleasant visit and handed us a map showing the many sites to take in.

After strolling through Union and Confederate graves, we drove to the Rock Island Arsenal Museum. Admission is free, and walking through its displays gives an overview of the many military items that were made there through the years. Although the evolution of weapons forms a large part of the museum, a small display caught our eyes. It showed stages in the manufacture of drinking water canteens made there for soldiers in both world wars. As a Boy Scout in the 1960s, Rich bought one at a surplus store and used it on many outings. The arsenal also produced needed but rarely thought of items like bridles, important in the day when the Calvary rode horses. Today, the arsenal continues to produce items needed by the U.S. Army.

The island’s only legal entry point is from Moline, but visitors can exit on the old bridge that leads to downtown Davenport. Tired and hungry after a day immersed in military history, we ducked into the Barrel House Restaurant for a modern and delicious burger.

Composed of the towns of Rock Island and Moline in Illinois, and Davenport and Bettendorf in Iowa, the Quad Cities forms a major metropolitan area with a population of 474,000. The towns are alive with interesting places to visit, stay and eat. On past trips, we’ve enjoyed the Figge Art Museum, the Bix Beiderbecke Museum and Archive, the Putnam Museum and Science Center, and the German American Heritage Center. It’s an easy day trip in range of the Corridor, and there are enough sites and activities to spend many days. Abundant motels and campgrounds make overnight stays easy.

American military veterans and their spouses and dependents are buried in many types of cemeteries across the United States and abroad. All are fascinating places to visit.

Perhaps the most poignant cemetery we’ve seen is tucked behind the Presbyterian Church facing the Morristown, New Jersey Green. In 1777, the Continental Army was quartered in nearby Jockey Hollow. Disease was the army’s greatest enemy with smallpox then running rampant. George Washington ordered all troops to take a form of inoculation administered by having a bit of smallpox pus poked into a healthy person. Most survived and were then immune for life, but a small percentage of soldiers died. Had Washington not made this order, the entire army may have died of smallpox and the Revolution sputtered out. The church welcomes people to visit their cemetery to view the graves of these brave American soldiers.

“Many other soldiers likely died when the Continental Army overwintered again near Morristown during the brutal winter of 1779-1780. They are probably buried here, but we have no records of them, and there are no grave markers,” said John Hazel, park guide at Morristown National Historical Park. The same is likely the case for unfortunate troops who died in our Republic’s early years.

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On July 17, 1862, 4,476 Union soldiers were killed during the Battle of Antietam. The Civil War’s massive casualties created the need for an organized cemetery system and record keeping. On the order of President Lincoln, within one year 14 national cemeteries were created.

Today, there are at least 156 national cemeteries. Most are administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs and include the one at Rock Island, which also administers the Keokuk cemetery. The U.S. Army administers other cemeteries, including well known Arlington Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. Most of the others are at current or former army bases.

The National Park Service administers 14 cemeteries, mostly associated with national battlefield sites. There are also state administered and VA funded veteran cemeteries. Iowa has one near Des Moines.

“Veterans and their spouses can be buried in any national cemetery, but usually the family chooses the one closest to home,” said Tomes, who administers the Rock Island Cemetery. Many veterans choose to be buried in civilian cemeteries, often owned by churches or towns. According to Tomes, veterans buried in these cemeteries or who have had cremains scattered can have a marker placed at a national cemetery.

America’s veteran population is shrinking. Only about 1 percent of WWII veterans remain alive. Of the 15.8 million living vets, the median age for men is 68 and 50 for women. When the draft ended in 1973, the number of active service members and veterans began shrinking and now constitute about 6.1 percent of the adult population. The youngest Vietnam era vets are about 70.

Those numbers indicate that a surge of burials will come to veteran cemeteries, and many families will need to decide what to do with their parents’ flag after their death.

Rich’s parents were cremated with their ashes placed in a natural area they loved, not a national cemetery. However, his family is proud that his flag will fly each Memorial Day at the Rock Island National Cemetery.