Carney's grandpa gets headstone -- 90 years after death

The headstone of the grave of BJ reporter Jim Carney’s grandfather has been erected 90 years after his death.

Explains Jim:

“Headstone for my grandfather, Raymond M. Carney, from the VA, installed today at Mount Calvary Cemetery in Wheeling, WV. His grave was unmarked for nearly 90 years until today.

“Luckily, I found his discharge papers in a box in our crazy basement. My father was 3 years old when his father died and he had no memory of him at all. Much thanks to the VA.”

I wonder what else is struggling to be found in Jim and wife Katie Byard’s Akron basement?

VA is the Veterans Administration.

Mount Calvary Cemetery is at 1685 National Road in Wheeling, not far from Oglebay Resorts and its famed Festival of Lights, six miles of holiday scenes visible in November and December.

The National Road aka Cumberland Road (roughly followed by U.S. 40 today) was the first major improved road to be built by the federal government, starting in 1811, and eventually ran 620 miles from Cumberland, Maryland and through Wheeling to Vandalia, Illinois before the project ran out of money. 

Charles Ellet, Jr.’s 1,010-foot Wheeling Suspension Bridge, at the time the longest bridge span, accommodated the National Road. The bridge still is there, albeit spruced up from time to time.

Later, Jim added this postscript:

"John

Our basement is quite insane. We have been trying to sort out clutter and moved a lot of stuff to the basement last winter. Later this year we hope to sift through the basement again. 

"It was really a stroke of luck to have found the papers. I had my grandfather's two round metal dog tags and a paper from a life insurance company that congratulated him for his service. He served with an aviation unit in England. But I did not have the discharge papers which I think were required. So finding them was a huge thing. 

"While covering something at the Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery in the fall -- the government shutdown -- I asked the director about getting headstones for vets. He told me to look on line. I did and got the form. 

"I called the cemetery and spoke to Becky Breiding there who asked me to send her the form. I sent in the info to the cemetery including photo copies of his dog tag. She then sent the paperwork to the VA. So it took less than three months. 

"She called me the morning it arrived and then sent photos of it in place. I still have not received any paperwork from the VA but she said that often comes after the stone is sent out."