LOVELAND, Colo. — To most people, a quarter is only worth 25 cents. But to one Colorado family, the quarter left on their loved one's grave is priceless — if they can track down who left it there.
Several military service members are buried at Loveland Burial Park, including Arthur L. Adams, Jr. To his family, he was Art.
"We were best buddies," said Rebecca Russell, Art's younger sister. "He had the biggest heart. Very kind, quiet person."
Russell still remembers opening the door in August 1968 — the night a uniformed officer showed up to tell her family Art had been killed while serving in Vietnam. He had joined the Navy out of high school in the Construction Battalion.
"About 3:00 in the morning, 122 millimeter rockets started coming into the camp, and all the men jumped into their foxholes. Then there were no more rockets coming in for a while, so they just stood up and were chatting amongst themselves. And then one more rocket came in, and he was hit with shrapnel. He and two other young men were killed that night," said Russell.
Art was buried in Loveland. Their parents were eventually buried right next to him.
Russell now lives in Iowa but has several family members who still live in northern Colorado, including her cousin, Christy Bashor. Bashor's mother and sister help care for the graves and visit Art every Memorial Day.
On a recent Memorial Day, they found a quarter on Art's grave — a priceless memento.
"[My mother] knew immediately when she saw the quarter, that meant it was left behind by someone who was with Artie when he died," said Bashor. "To know that person was so deeply touched that they, 50 years later, left that on Artie's grave was pretty, pretty special."
The person also left behind a Seabees medallion, which was Art's battalion. The family is now desperately hoping to connect with whoever left the tokens behind.
"Chills, kind of excitement because there's somebody out there that still remembers. That's the hard part. As I get older, there's fewer and fewer people around to remember with," said Russell, "If I could get through it without ugly crying the entire time, it would mean everything. It would be like having a little piece of Art back."
Until then, they'll continue to visit Art's grave and wait to hear from the person who was with him during his last moments.
"He was an amazing man. I think we've lost so many young men to wars, and we need to remember that," said Bashor.
If you have any information that could be passed along to the family, please email Danielle.Kreutter@denver7.com or newstips@denver7.com
