JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The grounds of the Jacksonville National Cemetery have been the final resting place the past 15 years for men and women who have dedicated part or all of their lives to protecting America.
More than 22,000 headstones solemnly stand at attention across the more than 500 acres.
It’s where women like Jerri Harrelson serve as a volunteer companion for the deceased.
“I just love the rows,” she said, staring out at the scores of gravesites. “That’s how we used to stand in formation. This is the way, if you serve your country, this is the way you should be resting.”
She’s excited and honored to be one of the newest members of the Jacksonville Ladies whose mission is to make sure no veteran is buried alone.
To do that, the Jacksonville Ladies show up to every committal ceremony for each veteran buried in Jacksonville’s National Cemetery, not knowing what circumstances they’ll encounter when they get there.
Each member of the group personalizes a message they speak to the family of the deceased during their loved one’s committal ceremony at the cemetery, after asking for permission to attend the family’s gathering at the committal shelters.
This day was Harrelson’s first on her own, after shadowing a seasoned member.
She had no idea she would wind up bringing a smile to an old classmate in mourning.
“We hadn’t seen each other in a while, and then we said ‘we’ll get together.’ So that let me know now to give them a call,” Harrelson said, grateful to have experienced that special moment.
Standing alongside the large, grieving family, Harrelson’s presence was appreciated.
Then News4JAX watched another committal ceremony attended by just one family member.
The presence of the Jacksonville Ladies was priceless.
Curtis Nixon brought his brother Levie Bell’s ashes to be buried. He thanked Jacksonville Ladies member Linda Edell for being there for them.
“I just don’t want anybody to ever feel that they’re not appreciated. That we don’t honor what they did. They sacrificed so much for us,” she explained. “And I just want all these guys and gals to know, we appreciate what they did for us, or what they do for us.”
Edell serves as the Jacksonville Ladies’ Chairwoman and was married to a Vietnam Veteran.
She said the Jacksonville Ladies have attended every burial service allowed since the cemetery’s very first committal ceremony in January of 2009, with the exception of time during the COVID pandemic.
“There has been a (Jacksonville) Lady to honor all of these people, and it’s -- that one will give me goosebumps,” she laughs, proud of the unwavering support their group provides.
This day, News4JAX also spoke with Kathy Cayton, known as the Jacksonville Ladies’ historian.
When asked about her most memorable moment as a volunteer, she began to cry thinking about Joe Beckers, a World War II veteran who Cayton said was too ill to attend his wife’s committal ceremony at Jacksonville National Cemetery, and didn’t know what to tell the undertaker to bury his wife in.
“And so he looked around the kitchen,” Cayton recalled, “And he had this beautiful cookie jar that he had bought (his wife) after World War II as a gift. And he said, ‘Is it okay if I put her in the cookie jar?’” Cayton paused as the tears flowed. “And they said, ‘Absolutely. If it seals, we can we can bury her in there.’”
Cayton said she had the honor of presenting the urn in the ground, and that Beckers gave her his military medals when he passed, which Cayton presented to a local museum.
For all three Jacksonville Ladies members News4JAX spoke with, these are cherished moments they shared, hoping they will encourage others in the greater Jacksonville area to join their volunteer group.
MORE: Volunteer for the Jacksonville Ladies
No special military ties are required. You only need a heart and desire to serve others.
They, and the Jacksonville National Ceremony invite the public to visit the Jacksonville National Cemetery this weekend for its annual Memorial Day ceremony.
The public is also welcome to volunteer with the Jacksonville Ladies on Thursday, May 23, at 2:30 pm after the last committal service for “Flags In Day,” a day dedicated to placing a flag at each gravesite before the Memorial Day ceremony on Saturday morning, May 25, at 9 a.m., after a brief orientation program explaining the cemetery protocol for placing flags.
Then next Tuesday, May 28, The Jacksonville Ladies invite the public to help them remove all the flags.