Naperville veteran wants to repair, replace graves of fallen servicemembers
NAPERVILLE, Ill. (CBS) – A woman in west suburban Naperville is committed to preserving the legacies of veterans and took a month-long journey to honor local heroes.
Staci Boyer has never met the fallen servicemembers or veterans, some who died decades ago, but she won't let their service or sacrifice fade from memory.
Last Memorial Day reminded Boyer of her mission, one she started months ago at Naperville Cemetery.
"Those that died to protect our freedoms, and that's what we're here celebrating," Boyer said. "That's what Memorial Day is really all about."
She leads the local VFW and visits the cemetery often. They come out there every year on Memorial Day and place flags on all of the veterans' graves. The seasons have taken their toll on the stone grave markers that have weathered and worn out.
"Some of these graves have been here for a really long time," she said.
Some were missing altogether.
"It made me sad," Boyer said. "I wanted them to have more than a flag on a pile of dirt."
Each flag would be placed at the grave of a fallen servicemember or veteran. Some graves were in need of some "TLC," she said. Some of the servicemembers were buried in the Land of Lincoln, even before Honest Abe was president.
Boyer doesn't want their names or their service forgotten, so she's hatched a plan.
"My heart's warming up because these things are happening," she said.
Boyer figured the community could raise enough money to repair or replace headstones. She said she's gotten seven businesses and organizations to adopt graves of fallen heroes.
Rod Hiltz can barely make out the letters on his uncle's grave anymore: "Edward W. Hiltz. World War I veteran."
"It would be nice to read because this guy was only one of seven from Naperville that died in France," Hiltz said of his uncle. He wishes he could protect his uncle's headstone like he does his uniform, though he never met him.
"I would've liked to have seen him sometime in my life, but it never happened," Hiltz said.
Hiltz said he joined the Army, inspired by his uncle's story.
Boyer served in the Navy as a hospital corpsman for 12 years. She was stationed on the USNS Comfort, a hospital ship, during the Persian Gulf War.
"I know for a face that I wouldn't be the person that I am today if I hadn't been in the military," she said.
Boyer feels it's her duty to fix up headstones for servicemembers, starting with the marker for Edward Hiltz. But suddenly, her mission hit a legal hurdle.
She needs a family member's permission to make changes to a headstone, and Edward Hitlz's family is the only one she's found.
"That's been the big roadblock because we couldn't find the people," Boyer said.
With nowhere else to turn, she asked a Marine for help in Democratic State Rep. Stephanie Kifowit.
"Well, I think it was clear talking to Staci that we just needed to change the law," Kifowit said.
Kifowit wanted to help.
By February, House Bill 4934 was on paper, and by early March, Boyer was in Springfield and eager to share her mission with a committee of lawmakers. The bill would allow VFWs and other veterans organizations to repair or replace 100-year-old veteran headstones without family permission.
"With H.B. 4934, we now can refurbish these graves as part of my 'Adopt a Veteran's Grave' project and honor them as they rightly deserve," Boyer told the lawmakers.
The debate was much shorter than Boyer's drive to the state capitol in Springfield. The bill passed in committee unanimously.
When Memorial Day rolled around, the bill was sitting on the governor's desk, just waiting for a signature.
"I know it's all going to end up being something fantastic," Boyer said.
Students at Naperville North High School raise the funds to replace Edward Hiltz's headstone. It was installed just this week.
To learn more about Boyer's Adopt a Veterans Grave Project, click here.
