MIDDLETOWN - Thrust into the grass at Mount Olivet Cemetery, the shovel strikes a hard surface. There is a “clink” sound.

A veteran’s footstone is down there, 3 inches under the surface. At one time, it heralded the details of his military service to passersby.

Now it’s sunken, out of sight.

A little digging brings a legacy to light:

Raymond J. Brady

New Jersey

Captain Medical Corps, World War I & II

Sept. 25, 1897

Feb. 5, 1964

How did Marine Corps veteran Robert Betz, owner of the aforementioned shovel, know Brady was under there? He noticed an ever-so-slight indentation in the ground a few feet before Brady’s headstone. If you look around Mount Olivet, the grassy indentations are everywhere — a lost army of footstones.

“They’re disappearing,” Betz said, “and it’s very sad.”

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There are options for veterans when it comes to gravestone selections. One of them is a footstone, a rectangular monument that sits ground-level and complements a headstone. When a footstone is used, it's inscribed with information about the person’s military record and the headstone is not. So if the footstone is lost, there is no indication that the plot is a veteran’s.

“I’m a veteran myself, and if it was me I would want somebody to dig it up,” said the 58-year-old Betz, who lives in Middletown. “You want to keep that memory of the veteran alive.”

The vanishing footstones are something to think about on Memorial Day. The issue is not confined to Mount Olivet. It’s happening in cemeteries all over.

“I’ve noticed it over the years; it’s something that has not really been addressed,” said T.J. Fearon, a Brielle resident and Gold Star families advocate who served in Vietnam with the U.S. Navy. “It takes a lot of effort to fix and these cemeteries usually are not fully staffed.”

Why does the sinking occur? Part of is natural into soft ground. And as Fearon explained, “In cemeteries they don’t take away the lawnmower cuttings of the grass, and you build up what’s called ‘thatch.’ The thatch creates a cover, like a rug. It gets mulched into the ground and the footstone gets pushed down.”

Ed Cardoza, Mount Olivet’s superintendent, said a $100 fee covers permanent maintenance of a veteran’s gravesite. Raising a sunken footstone is included.

“If anybody has a marker they want to raise, just call the office,” Cardoza said. “We do have 64 acres and 3,403 veterans currently, 12 from the Civil War. We do it as people call. We used to get the Boy Scouts to come in (and do it). They haven’t done that in a while.”

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It’s laborious work. The footstones weigh about 25 pounds. They have to be dug out, lifted and re-packed carefully; any protrusion over the grass line will interfere with lawnmowers.

For decades, this might have been the province of American Legion or VFW volunteers. Those members are aging past the point of such work. At age 58, Betz is the youngest member of two like-minded organizations with declining rolls: The Veterans of the Battle of the Bulge Association (Fort Monmouth, Chapter 56) and Disabled American Veterans (Fort Monmouth, Chapter 29).

It falls to younger groups like the Boy Scouts and high school service clubs to take up the mantle. Individual students looking for community service hours surely can fill them this way.

Over the course of 45 minutes with Betz at Mount Olivet last week, a handful of footstones were rescued. They belonged to Bernard P. Nelson (World War II, died 1966), Eugene F. Munn (World War II, died 1960), Frank Nelson Kaiser (World War II, died 1965), Edward A. Ferraro (World War I, died 1970), John Verange (World War II, died 1973) and James W. Morgan (Vietnam, died 1967).

It wasn’t easy, but like the small American flags that appear at veterans’ graves each year around this time, it sends a message about those who fought for freedom.

They are not forgotten.

Jerry Carino is news columnist for the Asbury Park Press, focusing on the Jersey Shore’s interesting people, inspiring stories and pressing issues. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.