VFW Lombard Cemetery Project
2012 - 2014
The Lombard Cemetery, also known as the Lombard
Village Cemetery or Main Street Cemetery, and originally named
Babcock's Grove Cemetery, is located at 460 South Main Street, Lombard,
IL.
The graves of about ten soldiers who fought in the
War of 1812, the Civil War, and World War I were unmarked in the
Lombard Cemetery as of October 2012. All of these veterans appear to
be eligible for free headstones from the Department of Veterans
Affairs.
Funds are needed for moving the headstones to the
cemetery, site preparation, and setting the headstones. The estimated
costs are about $150 to $200 per grave. Donations are appreciated, and
checks should be made payable to VFW Lilac Post 5815 and annotated
Lombard VFW Cemetery Project. The fund-raising program is called
"Pennies for Patriots."
Members of VFW Lilac Post 5815 and its Ladies'
Auxiliary have been working with the Lombard Historical Society and
Lombard Historical Commission, with the full approval and support of
the Lombard Cemetery Restoration Committee, on the VFW Lombard Cemetery
Project since October 2012. Members of the Post and Auxiliary are
assisting with the research, paperwork, fund raising, and handling all
funds.
The purpose of this project is the improvement and
preservation of veterans’ gravesites and the betterment of the Lombard
Cemetery.
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Obtaining these headstones is not that easy.
Each headstone request requires completion of Form VA40-1330 certifying that the veteran is
entitled to the headstone and that it will be installed in the cemetery
at no charge to the government, proof of the veteran's military service
and honorable discharge or death while on active duty, and a signed
statement from the next of kin of each of the veterans (or from the
veteran himself) authorizing us to apply for the headstone.
We are proving that it IS possible to do
this - the first of the ten
headstones was delivered on March 13, 2013, for David Frank, a Civil
War veteran who was born July 11, 1837, fought in the Union Army during
the Civil War, returned to Lombard, where he lived the rest of his
life, and died April 22, 1918. We were able to locate a descendant of
a cousin of David Frank's only grandchild, who readily agreed to sign a
statement authorizing us to procure a headstone for this veteran who
had been waiting 94 years.
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On Memorial Day 2013 a ceremony was held at
Lombard Cemetery to dedicate the headstones that had been received and
were now marking the graves of three of these soldiers, David Frank and
Francis A. Aneals, who both served in the Union Army during the Civil War,
and Walter Richard Mech, who was in the U.S. Army during World War I.
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Headstone for Francis A. Aneals |
Headstone for Walter Richard Mech |
During this ceremony on May 27, 2013, each of the three graves that
had been marked with a new headstone was dedicated and blessed by Rev. Edward L. Bryant, pastor of St. Timothy
Lutheran Church in Lombard.
Members of VFW Lilac Post 5815 fired a 21-gun salute, and "Taps" was played.
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Five additional headstones will be dedicated and blessed during a special ceremony on Veterans Day, November 11, 2013,
at the Lombard Cemetery at 2:00 p.m. Our goal is to have all the stones in the cemetery by Memorial Day 2014.

VFW Lilac Post 5815 participated in the
rededication of this cemetery on Memorial Day, May 25, 2009. A large
crowd, including Lombard's Village President, William J. Mueller, was
present for the ceremony. Additional photos are online on our Memorial Day page.
This page was
last updated October 30, 2013.
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