Veteran's Memorial Cemetery in Titusville to honor now-identified 'unknown veteran'

Dave Berman | Florida Today

Saturday's pre-Veterans Day ceremony at the Veteran's Memorial Cemetery in Titusville will have an unusual twist: Participants will honor a deceased Army sergeant who for some time had been known only as "the unknown veteran."

While working on restorations in the cremated grave section of the cemetery as part of his Eagle Scout project two years ago, Wyatt Webster of Port St. John was probing an unmarked area of the cemetery when he unearthed an urn with his rake.

Records showed the urn was not connected to any of the veterans officially buried at the cemetery, so Friends of the Cemetery President Sam DiBlasio started efforts to identify the veteran whose remains were inside.

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Ultimately, DiBlasio received permission to open the urn under the supervision of Titusville police officers, finding a 4-inch-by-1½-inch slip of paper in the urn with the name of the veteran — Edward Willie Gray Sr. — and the date of his cremation.

With the assistance of Kathy Church of the Missing in America Project, DiBlasio tracked down more information about Gray, a former Army sergeant who later had lived on Merritt Island. The Missing in America Project works to locate, identify and inter the unclaimed cremated remains of American veterans.

An obituary indicated Gray was a retired truck driver who died in 1997 at age 63.

DiBlasio also was able to contact a relative of Gray to inform her about the discovery of the urn. He is hoping some of Gray's relatives are able to attend Saturday's ceremony, which will recognize Gray with military honors, including the firing of volleys from rifles by the North Brevard Honor Guard and the ceremonial folding of a U.S. flag.

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DiBlasio said he doesn't know how the urn containing Gray's remains wound up in the cemetery, buried about 1 foot deep, and the relative he talked with doesn't know, either.

"She was totally, totally blown away" by the discovery, said DiBlasio, a Navy veteran.

Now, however, Gray's remains have been reburied, and a bronze grave plate provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs marks the location of the remains, fitting with current practice for veterans buried at a military cemetery.

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Since the Titusville cemetery opened in 1978, there had been 127 veterans buried there. It will not have additional burials as a result of the opening of the Cape Canaveral National Cemetery in Scottsmoor, which started burials of veterans in January 2016.

But, with Saturday's ceremony honoring Gray — the former "unknown veteran" — the official count of veterans buried at the Titusville cemetery is 128.

Ceremony details

Saturday's Veterans Day ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. at the Veteran’s Memorial Cemetery, 1143 Day St., Titusville.

The guest speaker will be retired Army Sgt. 1st Class Melvin Morris, a Medal of Honor recipient for his heroic acts during the Vietnam War.

The National Anthem will be sung by Jill Brehmer, and music will be provided by the Titusville and Astronaut High School combined bands. The posting of the colors will be presented by the Civil Air Patrol TiCo Composite Squadron.

A special military ceremony will honor deceased Army veteran Edward Willie Gray Sr., whose remains have been reburied at the cemetery.

Attendance is expected to be 300 to 400.

Donations sought

The Friends of the Cemetery organization is seeking donations to help fund upkeep of the cemetery.

DiBlasio said he appreciates the community's efforts so far, with more than 400 people volunteering over the past four years and more than 500 donations totaling $92,000.

The restoration of the cemetery has been extensive, including new landscaping, fencing, benches, a paved walkway and military flags, as well as an upgraded sprinkler system and cleaning of all the graves. A new aluminum entrance archway was installed earlier this year.

The Friends of the Cemetery mailing address for donations is: Friends of the Cemetery, 777 Peachtree St., Titusville, FL 32780.

For more information, call DiBlasio at 321-222-8738 or email him at diblasiosam@gmail.com.

Dave Berman is government editor at FLORIDA TODAY.

Contact Berman at 321-242-3649

or dberman@floridatoday.com.

Twitter: @bydaveberman