Visiting familyless veterans graves

WILLIAMSTOWN, Ky. - Since it opened in August of 2008, the Kentucky Veterans Cemetery North (KVCN) in Williamstown, Ky. has become the resting place for 514 people.  Four hundred and seventy-two are veteran service members and the rest are family members.  Eleven of the veterans have no family members.

"No loved ones either came to the service or they were the last of their family and there's no one left," said NVCN director Al Duncan.

Duncan has chosen to display the flag from the service members coffin inside a conference room at the cemetery office.  The idea is that one day a deceased's loved one may come to visit and if not, Duncan is proud of the service the heroes gave.

The first person to arrive at the cemetery was Roy E. Andes. He served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War. He is one of the 11 whose flag is still at the cemetery office.

"It just felt like something that I had to do," said 16-year-old Madison Immordini of Union, Ky.  "There are so many people today that are in the Army or have died from serving our country and they're not getting people to come and support them."

Immordini's parents brought Madison and her sister to the cemetery to show them the names of real people who served our country.

The gravestones were aligned in perfect formation and stood at attention while the Immordini family inspected who each marker represented.

Madison's mom, Dawn, explained why she brought her girls.

"My dad's a Vietnam vet," said Dawn.  "I think it's important to show them respect.  They gave it all so that we could have freedom."

Duncan concurred with Dawn's reasoning.

"It's very important to make sure that our children understand what the full meaning of what Memorial Day is," Duncan said.

The Immordinis arrived about 10 in the morning and visited where ever burials had been set.  Their visit lasted nearly an hour before leaving.

"I'm completely all for going to the cemetery to give thanks to people that have done this for us," said Madison.

When the clock approached 1 p.m, nearly 200 visitors arrived for the annual Memorial Day service, at the amphitheater. Retiring Kentucky Legislator, Royce Adams, delivered the keynote address.