May You Be Haunted If You Disrespect Idaho Graves In This Way

Cemeteries are places we go to when we need to quietly and respectfully pay a visit to lost loved ones. Groundskeepers have to maintain the property and earn a living doing so, so when it comes to keeping gravesites clutter-free and clean, they are the only ones who should ever discard any sort of gift or remembrance symbols left by the deceased person's family or friends.

I recently learned something about military cemeteries I never knew. I visited my father's gravesite over the weekend in Buhl, Idaho, and my young son asked me if he could take a walk around. I permitted him to do so but told him not to touch anything or walk across anyone's site.

Coins, in particular, should be left alone when seen at military cemeteries; to remove them would be incredibly disrespectful.

He came back a short time later and joined us at my dad's gravesite. He asked about the coins and the meaning behind the different types. It turns out I didn't entirely know what each coin symbolized when left on the top of a former military veteran's stone.

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A penny is left to simply acknowledge that the deceased had a visitor. A nickel means the person who left it trained with the buried individual in boot camp. Dimes are left by those who served with the departed, and quarters mean the graveside visitor was present when the person buried passed away. These rituals date back to ancient times.

Some cemeteries only allow items left by visitors to sit out for a short time. For example, flowers and flags get disposed of after a few days. Other trinkets also routinely get tossed as a way to keep the area clean.

No one should ever take any items from the gravesite of someone they did not know. Coins, in particular, should be left alone when seen at military cemeteries; to remove them would be incredibly disrespectful.