Coins left on military tombstones indicate a soldier has been visited. The denomination of the coin means different things. When I lived at Fort Sill I visited a gravesite with a classmate of a student I had helped enroll in school. Sadly, my new friend, my student was KIA. His battle buddy asked me to bring some pennies with me to help the fallen hero. I learned from my new friend the importance of coins that were left on the tombstone to show we had visited. He told me the legend that the money would also help pay the toll for the ferry the soldier needed across the rivers Styx.
I asked him if he really believed the mythology of having to pay a toll. He smiled and then looked back at the headstone we were standing by as he placed a quarter and said “I just need to know he’s ok. I also need him to know that I’m ok.” We both paused and said the solider’s name as we prayed for him.
A penny is not just a penny
Leaving a penny at the grave means simply that you visited.
A nickel is not just five cents
Leaving a nickel indicates that you and the deceased trained at boot camp together
A dime is not merely a thin silver coin
Leaving a dime means you served with him in some capacity
A quarter is very significant – the families appreciate it
By leaving a quarter at the grave, you are telling the family that you were with the soldier when he was killed.
The money left at graves in national cemeteries and state veterans cemeteries is eventually collected, and the funds are put toward maintaining the cemetery or paying burial costs for indigent veterans.