Saturday, 25 July 2015 (Part I)
Deer Crossing RV Park — San Patricio, New Mexico
Temps: Hi 91F (33C) / Lo 64F (18C)
While chatting with Denise, she mentioned two roads that we could drive where after a short distance the views open up and become quite scenic. “They’re gravel roads; not bad, but if you’d like to borrow our truck, you’re welcome to do so,” she told Mui. We took her up on the suggestion to check out one — Devil’s Canyon Road — but did so in our own car.
We encounter several areas where recent rains have washed debris across the road, but this is the only spot that must be a regular ford as there is a marker alerting drivers to the depth of the water. No fording was required today.
Our plan was to do some hiking while we were on our outing, but that part didn’t work out as the trail was a muddy mess after the recent rains.
We continued past the trailhead to a junction where the road changed from gravel to paved. In one direction the road continued towards the airport. We turned that way, but there wasn’t much of interest, so we returned the way we came. At the junction again, we decided to follow the sign to Fort Stanton — even though we had no plans to go that far. We had left the Phaeton early to take advantage of the cooler temps for hiking, and were not prepared for an outing lasting more than an hour or two. Hah! Best laid plans! … In this case, rather loosey-goosey plans.
Driving along, we were surprised by a roadrunner whizzing across the road in front of the car. By the time we stopped the car so I could step out and see if I could get a photo, the bird was long gone and all I saw was his tail disappearing into the brush. Turns out the greater roadrunner is the NM state bird!
A memory shot of a Greater Roadrunner taken by someone else.
[file downloaded from MorgueFile; no attribution necessary.]
We didn’t spy any hiking trails along the way and were about the turn around and go home when we came across a cemetery. The first sign we noticed identified it as the Merchant Marines and Military Cemetery, but its genesis goes back to 1899 when it was established as a US Public Health Service Cemetery after Fort Stanton was converted to a tuberculosis hospital for the Merchant Marine.
The obelisk and anchor are a memorial to the men and women of the American Merchant Marine.
We wandered around for a bit, studying the names on the headstones interspersed amongst the wood crosses that were identified with just a number. It was interesting that some of those buried came from or had roots in far flung places, such as Dalmacia and Sweden, to name two of the countries we noted.
In a distant corner of the cemetery, we noticed five headstones. Mui wandered over there while I focused on other parts of the cemetery. When he returned, he reported that they were the graves of five German seamen who were rescued after they scuttled the luxury liner SS Columbus in December 1939 so that it wouldn’t fall into enemy hands. The story of how these men and their compatriots came to Fort Stanton is an interesting one; you can read it here.
Of the five men, one died of heart failure, another in a drunken brawl, one committed
suicide, and the cause of death for another is unknown. The fifth man …
… one Heinrich Renken, died of Trichinosis — a parasitic disease. The headstone
includes the recognition that he was from the German luxury liner, SS Columbus.
As we wandered amongst the plots we noted that coins were placed at the base of many of the crosses and headstones. This isn’t the first time we’ve come across this. We knew they were placed in tribute, but didn’t know the significance of the coins until today. Primarily, the coin is a message to the family of the deceased soldier that someone has visited to pay respect. But there is a deeper meaning in the denomination of the coin left on the headstone that I don’t believe most visitors to the cemetery know about. For example, a penny means that you have simply visited the grave; while a nickel indicates the visitor and the deceased trained at boot camp together; and a quarter means the visitor was with the deceased when he was killed. (A photo of the sign is here if you want to read further about the practice of leaving a coin.)
The memorial marker for “Veterans of all wars who offered their lives for the
liberty that Americans believe in …” has various denominations of coins left on it.
The coins left in state and national veterans cemeteries are collected periodically. The funds are put towards the maintenance of these cemeteries and are also used to pay the cost of burying indigent veterans.
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Having read the sign, we leave the appropriate denomination of coinage at one of the gravesites.
Since the cemetery is part of Fort Stanton, it falls under the jurisdiction of the state’s Department of Cultural Affairs. Not wanting to be in the cemetery business, the department halted burials in 2010, but subsequently resumed them.
In another corner of the cemetery we found these more recent graves. This section was more in the nature of a modern military cemetery, with the graves consisting of a mix of veterans from varied wars and their family members. The NM Governor apparently proposed in 2014 that the site become a state veterans cemetery, while preserving the historic nature of the existing plots from when it was solely a Merchant Marine cemetery. From what we heard later, that proposal may being acted upon now.
When we returned to the car, Mui noted that Fort Stanton was down the road just a few short miles. So, we switched plans and headed there instead of returning home.
I’ll write about that portion of our day in a separate post.
© 2004-2015 Two to Travel's Phaeton Journeys. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED by ERIN ERKUN.
Glad you were able to drive the road for your adventure (you really do need a Jeep). The cemetary was a treasure find. What an interesting story about the five Germany men. It must have been very hard to handle not being able to return home. Thanks for sharing the link to the story. I never heard about the coins. I'll have to be on the look now and thanks to your information, I'll know what they mean. Great post:)
ReplyDeleteThe road really was no biggie ... good enough for regular vehicles under the conditions we drove it ... can't say the same about the next one we attempt. But that's for the next post ;-)) Should we find ourselves in the market for a new toad someday, we'll be looking at something with 4WD capability.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting Erin. Those unintended turns sometimes make for wonderful adventures. Very sobering beautiful pictures.
ReplyDeleteHow nice of her to lend you the truck.
ReplyDeleteWhat a cool cemetery. We have seen coins on various graves and were always curious to why. Thanks for the explanation. Glad to read how they actually use the coins for the Veterans. You have an awesome eye, Erin.
The last photo is so meaningful. I love the flag draping the soldiers shoulder.
Yes, it was nice of Denise to offer the use of their truck. We didn't need to take her up on it, though, as the CR-V did just fine. Had the road been a muddy mess or had standing water on it, we probably would have returned to borrow the truck.
ReplyDeleteI found the information about the coins most interesting. Never knew about that.
ReplyDeleteEnjoying your blog & especially the Merchant Marine Cem ... my uncle & wife are at rest there since 2004.
ReplyDeleteYou certainly have a knack for finding the most interesting and out-of-the-way places. Like the others who commented, I was also intrigued with the story about the coins. I know that I'll pay closer attention the next time I visit a cemetery, and I'll be more knowledgeable as well!.
ReplyDelete