Headstone of Veteran found left near closed down trailer park



This headstone is missing a grave....

 To the Editor:
Here are photos of a headstone or grave stone that my husband found on the edge of a lot, a couple lots away from our newly built home. This area was a Trailer Park, but it was cleared out because of serious drug problems, & now it is being sold to individuals to build new homes. So the people who occupied this area have moved in the past 2yrs.
The headstone reads; "Raymond Austin Blackwell 1938-1991 Air Force".
I reported it to the Police. They took photos & a report.
I called & left 2 messages at one local family member, explaining the situation & asking if they are related to the deceased, but they have not called back about it.
I was also told now that the reason the stone would be laying around, is that the Military gives the headstones to family members, but sometimes the family has the remains cremated, & they have nowhere to put the headstones.
But, I was also told that there is a Wall in Arlington, or somewhere in DC, that is built of these headstone that have nowhere else to be placed.
I just think it's a shame that the headstone is laying in the edge of the woods the way that it is, & I don't know what the proper channels would be to have the stone places in the Wall if the family does not want the headstone, & I'm sure that the family members themselves would want to have the stone place in that Wall if they knew about it.
Is there any way that an ad can be run in the St. Mary's Today to try to notify the family members or Military, so that someone can come to retrieve the headstone & have it properly place somewhere.
Thank you for any assistance you can give us in this matter.
Patricia Tardugno
Lexington Park, MD
patardugno@aol.com

(Editor's Note: No charge for this service for one of our nation's veterans.  Thank you for caring enough to seek to get this gravestone to the proper place.)