Consider this when posting memorials for veterans.

Don't add a prefix for someone's military rank on their memorial just because it's on their marker. Bear with me…read my rationale.

As a veteran, I'm extremely proud of my service, and hope it's recorded somewhere on my memorial one day. However, I haven't gone by my rank since 1991. It doesn't need to be next to my name like I was known by rank/name at the time of death.

If someone dies while serving (KIA, DNB, MIA, etc.), include it. If someone dies with a higher level rank (retirement ranks, or if the word "retired" is on the marker), include it. Calling someone PVT John Doe for 2-4 years of service, when they live 60-80 years longer, just isn't representative of who they were at death. Who do you honestly think was calling them Pvt or Sgt at their death decades later?

Don't believe those who are inflexible and cite some FAG rule (that's not written anywhere) of, "if it's on the marker, it must be included." That's ludicrous. I've written to the folks at [email protected], and they only say that "veterans should have their service honored." I wholeheartedly agree! When I die, I hope I'm not memorialized as Corporal Price for eternity. I haven't been known by that name since my discharge in 1991. Put it somewhere else, just not in the prefix.

Something else to chew on: Veterans markers are FREE. Some veterans/families can't afford anything else, or it's too stiff of a price for families to pay $8-15 per letter for a non-veteran engraving. Show some respect to the individual and let them be known by their name. Put their rank and other relevant service information in the inscriptions or biographies.

Thanks for making this consideration. Please go edit any of your managed memorials to affect this change. Thank you and may God Bless America! 🫡 🪖

Consider this when posting memorials for veterans.

Don't add a prefix for someone's military rank on their memorial just because it's on their marker. Bear with me…read my rationale.

As a veteran, I'm extremely proud of my service, and hope it's recorded somewhere on my memorial one day. However, I haven't gone by my rank since 1991. It doesn't need to be next to my name like I was known by rank/name at the time of death.

If someone dies while serving (KIA, DNB, MIA, etc.), include it. If someone dies with a higher level rank (retirement ranks, or if the word "retired" is on the marker), include it. Calling someone PVT John Doe for 2-4 years of service, when they live 60-80 years longer, just isn't representative of who they were at death. Who do you honestly think was calling them Pvt or Sgt at their death decades later?

Don't believe those who are inflexible and cite some FAG rule (that's not written anywhere) of, "if it's on the marker, it must be included." That's ludicrous. I've written to the folks at [email protected], and they only say that "veterans should have their service honored." I wholeheartedly agree! When I die, I hope I'm not memorialized as Corporal Price for eternity. I haven't been known by that name since my discharge in 1991. Put it somewhere else, just not in the prefix.

Something else to chew on: Veterans markers are FREE. Some veterans/families can't afford anything else, or it's too stiff of a price for families to pay $8-15 per letter for a non-veteran engraving. Show some respect to the individual and let them be known by their name. Put their rank and other relevant service information in the inscriptions or biographies.

Thanks for making this consideration. Please go edit any of your managed memorials to affect this change. Thank you and may God Bless America! 🫡 🪖