A government-furnished headstone now marks the grave of Herbert O’Hara, a World War II Army veteran who died in 1962 without family to remember him. Former students of Omaha’s St. John’s High School helped secure the marker after discovering his grave was unmarked.
The effort began with reunion research. Bruce Atkinson, a member of St. John’s Class of 1964, was looking into classmates and gravestones when he discovered that the school’s former janitor, O’Hara, had no headstone, according to KMTV 3 News Now Omaha. Atkinson learned O’Hara had served in the U.S. Army during World War II and asked classmate Hughleen Thorsen to help investigate.
The classmates searched records and found a final pay voucher in the National Archives. The station reported that the document provided evidence needed to obtain O’Hara’s headstone.
How veterans may receive a grave marker
According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, a veteran who did not receive a dishonorable discharge may be eligible for a government-furnished headstone or marker for an unmarked grave, subject to applicable service requirements. In O’Hara’s case, classmates found a National Archives final pay voucher that provided evidence needed to secure his marker. The National Cemetery Administration says the marker itself is provided at no charge. In a private cemetery, applicants are responsible for arranging and paying for its placement.
Classmates Return to the Gravesite
The Class of 1964 organized a graveside ceremony with an honor guard, a 21-gun salute and the playing of taps. The classmates’ effort brought military honors to O’Hara decades after his death.
“It’ll be everything he should have had,” Thorsen said in the station’s account, describing what the classmates hoped the ceremony would provide.
The classmates also described how little they had known about O’Hara when they were students. Atkinson said he knew O’Hara only by name. Linda McGuire said she had no real memories of him, while Sue Miles recalled that very few students spoke to him, according to the station.
A School That No Longer Exists
St. John’s once stood on Creighton University’s campus, but its building was later torn down, according to 3 News Now. The station also reported that reporter Jeremy Fredricks asked Creighton’s archives whether a photograph of O’Hara had survived; archivists could not find one. Thorsen plans to continue looking for a picture.
