Rest in peace Harold ….we honor your memory…Sgt. Donald J. Ferguson USMC

On Memorial Day my mind wanders through the Cambridge Cemetery’s 66-acre site on Coolidge Avenue. I don’t know if most who pass this place realize that it is the resting place of Medal of Honor recipients Joseph F. Scott and Alphonso M. Lunt, prominent literary figures Henry and William James and William Dean Howells, Baseball Hall of Famers John Clarkson and Timothy Keefe, and other notable Cantabridgians.

I know because scattered among these veterans lie my brother, father, uncles, friends and neighbors. My mom who is laid to rest there now, spent many of her Memorial Day’s up into her late 80’s as a member of the Woman’s VFW, passing out American Flags to families who come to pay respects and pass the time with those that have passed on. Years ago she mentioned with a bit of pride that a number of the boys (WWII and Vietnam Vets) would say as she passed them a flag …..”Jesus Mary, are you still alive? God Bless you!” It made her happy to be remembered… For those that have visited grave-sites of U.S. veterans, you may have noticed coins on the top of headstones that were left behind by a visitors.

A coin left on the headstone is a message to the deceased veteran’s family that someone has visited their grave and paid their respects. Each type of coin left on the top of the headstone for the veteran has its own meaning. A penny left on the top of the headstone means that the grave-site was visited. A nickel indicates that the person visiting the site trained at boot camp with the deceased veteran, while a dime means the person served with them in some capacity. A quarter left at the grave means that the person who left the coin was with the veteran when they were killed.

“We remember the sacrifices of military families who have endured separation, loss, and hardship in support of their loved ones’ service”.

I remember as a kid the time I first saw the sign that commemorates my uncle Harold G Ferguson on the corner of Hamilton and Brookline streets. I ran home to ask my mom if he was my fathers brother Harold and wanted to know all the details about why he had a sign with his name on it. She told me that he had died in the war at Pearl Harbor and his death had hit the family very hard. Harold was the first son from Cambridge to be returned from overseas after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Massachusetts Ave was packed with mourners all the way through to Lafayette Square and down to Our Lady of Mt Carmel Church. The Daily Globe reported that both my Grandmother Margret “Tilly” Ferguson and Harold’s wife Elizabeth Ferguson collapsed with grief and had to be help from the services.

Newspaper clippings from the funeral procession and mass service.

When I enlisted in the United States Marines my mom wept …. she remember the suffering after my Uncle Harold’s death and how she suffered during my brother’s tour in Vietnam along the DMZ. She herself worked in the Watertown Arsenal and the Boston Naval ship yard as a heavy equipment operator during the war. She was acutely aware of the toll on family having a family member in the armed services. On Memorial Day I think about those that have passed but I also remember and honor their families. It is for our families and the country we love that we choose to serve.