Photo By Shawn Davis | Ruth Cemetery is marked with an American flag overlooking the horizon from one of the...... read more read more
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FORT CAVAZOS, Texas — Every Sunday before Memorial Day, the ranges of Fort Cavazos lie still; this Sunday afternoon was no exception, as the muddied ranges of the installation gave way to families who wanted to visit the generations of old buried in the cemeteries on post.
Robert Perrow, a range operations specialist and U.S. Army veteran, drives through the mud and ponds that dot the gravel roads that intersect with Range Rd. He checks up on each cemetery, each one with an American flag at the entrance and a sign to mark them. Some of the tombstones within mark the first settlers of the Texas republic, others for families that have rooted themselves in the central Texas area.
Blanchard, an old family name around these parts joins together in death with the likes of the Farmers, the Dyers, the Prices and such at cemeteries named after the former communities and some of the prominent families that occupied where the range now sites. Shane Blanchard pays his respects alongside his father Billy, who was born in 1944, a couple years after Fort Cavazos, then named Camp Hood, began its mission by buying up the rolling hills north of the installation for use as training ranges.
“Our great, great, great, great grandfather started off our Blanchard’s in Texas,” Blanchard said, “They come from Tennessee, are buried at Bethel (Cemetery), and we have other aunts, uncles (and) cousins mainly buried at Bethel.
“This is the only time we’re allowed to come out here in the impact zone all year — so we always try to come out here and pay our respects to our family.”
“It’s our heritage,” Blanchard continues, “This is our family but, like I said, this is the only time you can come out here and pay respects, and it’s very important to see the flags, to see that they’ve mowed (the cemetery). You know, that says a lot about our government looking out for us, and we appreciate that.”
Perrow drives through the ranges often to make sure everything is in order. For example, he’ll occasionally find equipment left behind from training, but this time the primary concern was families getting stuck in the heavy mud from the influx of rain over the past weeks. He braved low crossings of mud and water channels to visit the cemeteries with his four-wheel-drive truck.
Visiting the Pleasant Grove Cemetery, Gayla Gould used the words “reverent” and “appreciative” to describe the experience. She and her husband Steve were paying respects to her great grandparents and great uncle. She recalled stories she heard from her uncle of the times he spent growing up in Texas with them. It’s an intimate image of church gatherings and treats of old-fashioned soda.
“The people we lay flowers for, they’re dead,” Gould said, “… We do this for ourselves, but still, it gives you a good feeling to see them.
“The upkeep that the Army does, that upkeeps the cemeteries… especially the ones over the impact zones — they get a lot of shakes, its good.”
The cemeteries dotting the northern ranges of Fort Cavazos are maintained by a mixture of volunteering Soldiers, on-post directorates and descendants of those buried. While the cemeteries in the “red line” are prohibited from visitation except for this Sunday, the ones outside are free for visitation during daytime hours. The Gould family planted artificial flowers that last longer and decorated the headstones of their family.
A gleam reflects off a black, polished headstone at the Walker cemetery, and Perrow is reminded of the fact there are still loved ones being buried at these cemeteries. The tombstone of Kyle J. Tennison of Gatesville, Texas, who died at 16 years, marks his final place of rest next to his grandparents. A spot is reserved for the parents who survive him. It’s the younger ones that get to him, he said, as there are also tombstones for children who passed at infancy in these cemeteries.
There are efforts made to honor Soldiers from the area, too, in these cemeteries. A Staff Sgt. Robert G. Rudd, who had passed in the Battle of the Bulge, lies in Bethel Cemetery, his tombstone still in the process of being made to this day. Veterans of all wars who paid the ultimate sacrifice return to their loved ones in these cemeteries, as the installation honors them and their families with remembrance.
| Date Taken: | 05.28.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 06.10.2024 08:38 |
| Story ID: | 472556 |
| Location: | FORT CAVAZOS, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 33 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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