Remembering a Forgotten Hero
Walking to our family plot at Calvary Cemetery in Youngstown, Ohio, my daughter and I found a grass-covered grave. We stepped closer to read the headstone. “Oh no, I said, “He’s a World War II vet.” We looked up at all of the graves with American flags beside them, including my father’s. Someone remembered to have them honored for their service.
Eugene Pautot did not.
He died in 1982. His gravestone says his name and “U.S. Army/World War II.” Was he a husband, a son, a father? Does he have cousins or friends living in town? Another headstone with the name Pautot, a female, stood several feet away. There seemed to be no connection between them except for the last name.
We had brought a small shovel to dig around family graves, so my husband cleaned around Eugene’s. Unfortunately, it was the Sunday before Memorial Day, so the cemetery office was closed. We couldn’t ask to have a flag put on Eugene’s grave. I looked at my father’s flag, and for a moment I thought about giving it to Eugene. In the end, I decided that my dad had served his country, too, and deserved a flag as much as Eugene. I would find another way to honor him.
A search of World War II Veterans from Youngstown revealed that Eugene was a staff sergeant in the Army in 1945. He received at least three medals during his service.
That’s all the information I could find, but Eugene deserves more than that. So here is my humble attempt to give Eugene recognition for putting his life on the line to keep others free.
Thank you for your service, Eugene Pautot. I will make sure a flag flies by your grave on the 4th of July and Veterans Day.
What happened to honoring the WW1 veterans?
"After World War I, Cleveland and its neighboring suburbs, including Shaker Heights and Cleveland Heights, established 'Liberty Row' to honor local soldiers who had died in the war. This memorial, dedicated on Memorial Day in 1919, consisted of over 800 oak trees planted along a nine-mile stretch of roadway. Each tree was accompanied by a bronze plaque bearing the name of a fallen servicemember. The route began at Gordon Park on Lake Erie, continued through Rockefeller and Wade Parks, and extended along Ambler Drive into Cleveland Heights and North Park Boulevard into Shaker Heights." heightsobserver.org
Most plaques are now gone, and the key street has been renamed to honor the Rev Martin Luther King.
How long until we no longer honor or remember the deeds of the WW2 vets or MLK?
When I was a leader of a Scout troop, we were often asked by our local American Legion or VFW post to place flags at the gravesites of veterans on Memorial Day weekend. I'm sure this is done in lots of other places too.
Usually there's a small stand by the headstone that will hold that flag at the appropriate time. Who knows why Pautot had no stand by his grave marker? Possibly his family was traumatized at the time of his death, and it was all they could manage just to make sure a headstone was placed. I've seen that happen before.
So it's fortunate that you noticed it was missing. Because I'm sure if you mention it to the American Legion, they'll be happy to provide the appropriate flag holder for that veteran's grave. So going forward, Eugene Pautot will have the recognition he deserves on Memorial Day, when a Scout troop or another group places those flags to honor veterans who have passed.
I was honored to know your Dad while he was with us, and knowing he was a veteran just increases the esteem I hold for him.