The Public Receiving Vault in Greenwood Cemetery is the place where bodies of slain local soldiers from various wars, and bodies of others who died of other causes, were kept during cold-weather months until they could be buried.
The vault, whose construction started in 1892, is a late Victorian Romanesque Revivalist stone building that also stored bodies of some killed by the Great Miami River Flood of 1913.
The Journal-News in 2017 wrote about local historian Marlene Carmack’s hope the interior would be restored so it occasionally could be visited. In the meantime, a new roof was built on the structure.
“Before I became general manager here, I think there was a quote, in order to get it back to where it was, I think it was just over $1 million,” said Greenwood’s general manager, Dan Peters. “It looks like it’s going to be a lot of work. But it is something that is on the cemetery’s radar.”
An upgrade
This year, because the COVID-19 pandemic continues, a Memorial Day parade was not planned in Hamilton, which usually ends with speeches at Greenwood. But despite the coronavirus, the area where those speeches are given was upgraded to further honor veterans, including those killed in battle.
Xander Roberts, an Eagle Scout with Troop 956 in Hamilton, approached the cemetery last year about placing five flag poles with flags around the speaking podium, one flag for each branch of the military, for his Eagle Scout project.
The cost for the flag poles was about $9,000, and Roberts raised $11,093, Peters said. Roberts recently graduated from Hamilton High School and already is at Marine boot camp in Parris Island, S.C.
“He is really a remarkable young man,” Peters said. “Not only did he pay for the poles, but he also raised enough to recondition the entire podium, provide new landscaping around the site and pay for lighting on each pole.”
“He did it because he had a love for people who serve our country, and he also was planning on going into the military himself,” said his grandfather, Doug Trimmer, who was a troop scoutmaster. “He made a very big contribution to Greenwood Cemetery” with the project.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
Fred Bailey, 73, of Fairfield, who each year places American flags at the grave sites of veterans at several cemeteries, was able to do it more quickly than usual this year — two days — because he had help from more people he could count, including American Legion Post 138, Troop 967, Amvets and some from the county’s veterans commission.
Bailey, who was an Army Specialist E5 during the Vietnam war.
Bailey said he has never seen the inside of the Public Receiving House, but, “I think that would be wonderful if they could do it,” he said about an interior restoration. “That’s history. Save history.”
Bailey assigned himself his current mission because, “I don’t want the public to forget the sacrifices of our veterans,” he said, adding many people take for granted the United States and sacrifices the military made for the country.
“We all were very young, some didn’t come back and some that did come back were called the ‘walking wounded’ because we had issues.”
He asks that people welcome veterans home or thank them for their service.
“As long as the good Lord gives me strength, I’ll be out there every year,” Bailey said.
Unkempt cemeteries?
Meanwhile, the Ohio Department of Commerce recently asked that people who see problems at cemeteries this Memorial Day report them to cemetery management. If those issues are not addressed, people can file a complaint with the Ohio Cemetery Dispute Resolution Commission (OCDRC) by downloading a complaint form online or by emailing Web.Real@com.state.oh.us, the department announced.
“Cemeteries are the final resting place for our loved ones, including our veterans, making them significant to our history,” said Anne Petit, superintendent of the Division of Real Estate & Professional Licensing. “Our maintenance and operation guidelines help ensure Ohioans can honor the memories of the people they care about without any worry.”
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