BY MATT LINDSEYNorth Country This Week

COLTON — A local effort to identify and honor veterans buried in one of the North Country’s oldest cemeteries has led to 120 new veterans’ grave markers being installed at Garfield Cemetery ahead of the nation’s 250th birthday celebration.

Operation Sleeping Warrior, led by AMVETS Post 262 in Colton, finished work at Garfield Cemetery before expanding the effort into four additional area cemeteries.

“We plan to continue to raise funds for markers and U.S. flags to honor our sleeping warriors,” Operation Sleeping Warrior leader Bruce Swift said.

The project drew support from 36 donors.

“There were 36 donors total, six of which are classified as businesses, raising $7,000,” Swift said.

Historic cemetery mission 

Garfield Cemetery was established in 1807, and many graves are unattended because descendants are no longer in the area, making identification difficult.

Volunteers initially identified 121 veterans buried there and ultimately placed markers on 120 graves.

“120 of 121 graves received markers,” Swift said. “One grave did not receive a marker as the warrior already had a war-specific marker and there was no need to add a second marker.”

Four veterans identified during research did not receive markers because deteriorated stones and incomplete records prevented volunteers from positively identifying the graves. Those included one veteran from the War of 1812, two Civil War veterans and one veteran who lived between 1860 and 1905.

“Three of the four graves were found, but could not be identified beyond a shadow of a doubt due to the stone deterioration,” Swift said.

About one-third of the markers installed at Garfield Cemetery honor veterans from the Revolutionary War, War of 1812 and Civil War.

John Austin of DeKalb Junction also helped verify veterans’ records. Swift said Austin contributed financially and shared databases documenting St. Lawrence County veterans from the War of 1812 and Civil War, helping volunteers verify Civil War records and identify additional War of 1812 veterans.

Veterans honored beyond 

Volunteers also installed five additional markers at four cemeteries within AMVETS Post 262’s area.

Among those recognized were twin brothers Rocky and Ricky Burns, U.S. Marine Corps veterans from Pierrepont buried in South Russell Cemetery. Rocky Burns was killed in action during the Vietnam War, while Ricky Burns survived combat service only to later die in a construction accident in Ogdensburg.

At Pleasant Mount Cemetery in Colton, volunteers installed a Navy marker near a memorial honoring Steven Cayey, who died April 10, 1963, when the nuclear submarine USS Thresher sank off the coast of Cape Cod, killing all 129 people aboard. The crew’s remains were never recovered, according to Swift.

Volunteers also installed 16 new U.S. flags at non-veteran graves where flags had been placed in previous years.

Continuing the effort

Many graves already had veteran markers but lacked flag holders, organizers said. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs provides grave markers and flag holders for eligible veterans through an application process.

After the project’s early success, AMVETS Post 262 plans to continue Operation Sleeping Warrior and expand efforts to help families obtain military markers and flags for veterans whose service records may be difficult to locate.

“Although we have a meager amount of dollars remaining, we hope to help North Country area families who are unable to obtain a marker from the Veterans Administration due to a lack of discharge papers receive a service-related marker and U.S. flag,” Swift said.

Donations to support the program may be mailed to AMVETS Post 262, PO Box 272, Colton, NY 13625. Include Operation Sleeping Warrior in the memo field or electronically by using this link https://app.autobooks.co/pay/amvets-post-262-incorporated .

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