Thousands of dollars have been donated to a group raising money to buy a gravestone for a First World War veteran buried at Fraser Cemetery.
The New Westminster-based Society of the Officers of the Honourable Guard set out to raise $1,200 earlier this month and instead have raised more than $4,400.
The money will be used to buy gravestones for veterans buried without one at Fraser Cemetery, including William Stevenson.
Stevenson fought in the First World War. He died at his home on East Columbia Street on April 14, 1939.
Because he had no family in the area and wasn’t married, there was no one to pay for a headstone.
But the Society of the Officers of the Honourable Guard want to change that.
“It’s been absolutely overwhelming,” said society member Rob Rathbun.
In addition to the donations, an anonymous donor reached out to the society and has offered to sponsor eight more graves, Rathbun said.
As well, the Last Post Fund, a non-profit organization that administers the Veterans Affairs Canada funeral and burial program, has also reached out to Rathbun to provide funding support for the society’s initiative.
“They want to work with us, so we’re going to stick our neck out and say we’re going to do all the graves in New Westminster,” he said.
First up will be Stevenson, Rathbun added.
Before they can have the stone made, the society needs Stevenson’s service records, which they’re searching for with the help of a researcher in Ontario.
Rathbun expects they’ll be able to get the necessary information early next year in time for an unveiling ceremony in the spring.
And from there, they’ll move on to the other veterans buried at Fraser Cemetery without a gravestone.
“What’s kind of important, too, is we want to give each person their own due recognition. All of them are going to be done, but we just don’t want to do an unveiling and say, ‘Here’s 10 veterans.’ We want to give each veteran their own recognition,” Rathbun said.
In the meantime, folks can still donate to the society at www.gofundme.com/foom3o. Anyone interested in helping with the research portion of the project can contact Rathbun at [email protected].
