SOLDIERS: Time to tell their stories

After three years searching for the stories of Oklahoma soldiers who had fallen overseas, Maysville’s Michael Beach is branching out to look for 1,200 stories around the United States and its territories.

Beach spent six months traveling through 23 cemeteries and placing the Oklahoma state rock, the rose rock, on more than 2,000 graves of Oklahoma soldiers.

“Everything started when I visited a Normandy cemetery and walked up to an Oklahoman’s grave. I gave him a rose rock and found about 20 others that day. When I went back, I visited the 144 Oklahoma soldiers in the cemetery and gave all of them a rose rock.”

Beach began his search for the stories of these fallen men in order to share them with the cemeteries where their bodies rest. While that may seem like an easy task, Beach hit roadblock after roadblock. “All too many times I have had family members tell me, ‘I wish I had known about this a year ago because my mom was alive and she knew everything about my uncle buried overseas.’” So far Beach has gathered around 50 stories, some only partially complete, of World War I and World War II members of the military from Oklahoma.

Beach is now in the process of looking for stories of soldiers from other states.

“I have decided to find one story from each state for each of the 23 cemeteries located overseas and Hawaii.” The stories that Beach collects will be shared with each soldier’s cemetery so that others passing through them can hear the tales and histories of these honorable men.

Beach is looking for copies of photos, letters, family stories, information about the soldier’s life, and even history of the area during the time the soldiers lived there.

Anyone who has any information on a solider who is buried overseas, please contact Beach by visiting apieceofhomeusa.com to arrange a digital transfer. Information can also be sent by mail to:

MICHAEL BEACH

P.O. Box 582

Maysville, OK 73057