While many may have noticed coins placed on headstones before, it is possible that many people do not understand what the significance of these coins mean. One man, Dave Malenfant, recently made a post on Facebook that referred to the coins on headstones that ended up going viral. The following is in referenced to Malenfant’s post.
Dave Malenfant was at the Holly National Cemetery attending the “Cleaning of the Stones” when he noticed different denominations of coins placed upon the headstones. He took several pictures of the coins he saw then later went home to find out what was significant about the money on the grave. When he found out what the significance was, he couldn’t wait to share what he found out.
A coin that is left on a headstone of a solider means that someone stopped by their resting place to pay their respects to that person. A penny left means that someone stopped by for a visit. A nickle left means that the person who left the money trained at the same boot camp as the deceased solider. A dime left means that the person and the solider served together, and a quarter left means that the person was present when the solider died.
While leaving the coins is not an actually military tradition, it is recognized by soldiers around America.