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US Military Members Discover and Restore World War II Veteran’s Grave in Africa

It’s a sad reality many of our nation’s fallen heroes go unrecognized and even forgotten. Luckily, in this case, after finding a veteran’s grave in Africa, US military members marked and restored it.

Nathan Reynolds is a 40-year-old Army veteran with a passion for replacing United States military veteran’s broken or missing headstones. Deployed to Camp Lemonnier with the Defense Logistics Agency, he discovered WWII veteran Arthur R. Lewis’ unmarked grave. Reynolds found his grave at the New European Cemetery in Djibouti city. “This is definitely the hardest one I’ve ever done,” he told Military.com.

In instances like this, Reynolds goes to the Department of Veterans Affairs to replace headstones at unmarked or damaged graves. However, Reynolds and his peers didn’t stop there. “We were like, ‘We gotta do more than that,’” Maj. Jay Cavaiola of the 404th Civil Affairs Battalion stated. Last Thursday, American and foreign dignitaries gathered to give Lewis his long-coming military honors, along with other service members from several countries.

Guests even included the Djiboutian defense minister and senior military officers of the country. Though Lewis’ family couldn’t attend, they said they were “blown away” by their father being honored in such a way.

Reynolds felt lucky the military deployed him to Camp Lemonnier. He frequently visits the website Findagrave.com where he gets notifications for gravesite photos. Reynolds learned that Lewis’ daughter sought a photo of his grave through the website. After going around town looking for people to help Reynolds secure and purchase it, they gave the request to Veteran’s Affairs.

Overall, the VA was a bit confused by the request being in Africa but managed to secure it for Lewis’ family members.

Indian Motorcycle Collaborating with Veteran’s Charity to Honor Military Members

People honor military and service members in their own ways. Many tend to be charity rides on motorcycles and to further help honor military members, Indian Motorcycle is teaming up with a veteran’s charity with a new project.

Working together with Veterans Charity Ride (VCR), Indian Motorcycle is designing its first military-inspired clothing line. Moreover, all proceeds will go towards helping United States veterans. Calling it the “Honoring Heroes” line, it’s going for military-inspired casual wear. Sporting designs like camo, it will include items like t-shirts and hoodies.

Ross Clifford, Vice President of Parts, Garments, and Accessories at Indian Motorcycle issued a statement about the effort. “It’s been an honor to support the Veterans Charity Ride over the last several years, as the organization does incredible work in supporting post-war veterans as they transition to life as a civilian.”

Additionally, he stated, “That said, we are proud to release our new Honoring Heroes collection to not only show appreciation for our troops but to directly help fund VCR’s important programming.”