MANITOWOC (NBC 26) — Local leaders and veterans gathered in Manitowoc Wednesday to honor those who served and remember the sacrifices that helped protect our freedoms.
The Manitowoc County United Veterans Council hosted its annual Veterans Day ceremony inside the county board meeting room due to weather.
After the ceremony, the focus turned to Evergreen Cemetery, where 10 damaged or unreadable headstones marking the graves of Civil War veterans were replaced with new granite ones.
"Today we remember Civil War veteran John E. Horn," was spoken during the reveal.
Volunteers used old maps and handwritten burial records to help find the graves.
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"If it were not for their courage, we wouldn't even have the freedom to do what we are doing today," Paul Tittl, of Wisconsin State Assembly District 25, said.
The ceremony wrapped up by 11 in the morning, marking the exact hour the armistice took effect in 1918, ending fighting in World War I.
"The service didn't end when the uniform came off. So many of our local veterans continue to serve long after their military careers have ended," Manitowoc Mayor Justin Nickels said.
Vietnam veteran and Manitowoc County Civil War Roundtable member Dennis Moore said Manitowoc County had about 2,600 men serve in the Civil War, with about 960 buried in the county.
"These men deserve to be recognized. It's really sad to walk in the cemetery to see a government issued stone with no information on it. You don't know who is buried there, you don't know what they did," Moore said.
It's the second year of the restoration project, with last year's effort replacing 11 headstones and four memorial markers.
"Their courage and sacrifice should never be forgotten. Not just on Veterans Day or Memorial Day, but always," Manitowoc County Executive Tyler Martell said.
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