Veterans held an event and built a monument to honor the work of Rockwell Funeral Home in their community
Members of the Rowan County Veterans Honor Guard raise flags during the unveiling of the Veterans Monument at Pauls-Staton Funeral Home.
A dinner was held in honor of the event to thank Powles-Staton members for their work in the community.
Cecil Wheatley speaks at the unveiling ceremony for the monument.
ROCKWELL - The families and staff of Powles-Staton Funeral Home have been steadfast in their support of veterans, and on Monday some of them came together to give thanks with a dinner and memorial on the funeral home grounds.
Troy Horton of Frontier Coffee Shop said his organization came up with the idea to thank members of Pauls-Staton for their efforts with a memorial. Horton, who is a veteran himself, said he shared the idea with Cecil Whitley, a Salisbury lawyer and Vietnam War veteran. Together they then came up with a design for the monument that honors all branches of the military.
"It's very gratifying because the only reason we do what we do is because of the veterans. We wanted to do something for them, to help them at a difficult time in their lives and their families' lives. We just try to help them out a little bit and show our support," says Steve Staton, owner of the funeral home.
Staton said the organization started helping veterans about 15 years ago when the funeral home began working with the Veteran's Funeral Care Association. That association gave the staff other ways to help the community, and Staton said their work has only grown since then.
"You look around and you see these kids and they have a future because of what these guys did and those who didn't come home. So that's what we do," Stayton said.
Employees and families associated with Powles-Staton hold many events throughout the year to benefit veterans, and Horton said he has worked closely with them for seven or eight years, participating in both coffee shop and funeral home events.
"Almost every funeral home in Rowan County has helped us, whether it be with money or other things for veterans. But this group here, they feed us twice a year. They do so much to help," says Horton.
During the dedication, Wheatley told a story that he said is just one example of how funeral home employees help veterans. A woman who served in the military during World War II passed away with no immediate family to take her in.
Members of the Powles-Staton Company took her body to give her a military funeral. Some employees then tracked down her former company and discovered that only one of them was still alive. Powles-Staton paid for that person, his caregiver and administrator to fly to Rowan County for the funeral.
"Do you know how many people came to this lady's funeral when only one person had seen her before? 473. That's what Powles-Staton Funeral Home and their staff did," Whitley said.
The 22-foot-long monument, Horton said, symbolizes the saying "22 veterans a day," which means that on average 22 veterans commit suicide a day, although Horton said that number is almost certainly much higher these days. Horton said the group wanted to place the monument six feet from the funeral home building to symbolize the saying "We've got your six," but had to move it farther away for structural reasons.
Horton and Whitley, along with others, worked on the concept for the monument for several months in time for the Memorial Day event. The dedication was followed by a dinner for people involved with Pauls-Staton and the construction of the monument.