Holiday respects paid at Western Reserve Cemetery

RITTMAN — On a cold and rain soaked Sunday afternoon, U.S. Air Force veteran and Seville resident Daniel Facemire laid flowers at his wife's grave, reflecting on her recent passing and a year without a formal wreath placement ceremony at Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery. The Vietnam War veteran offered to talk about recent personal experiences and turnout at Western Reserve that's remained consistent even through COVID-19. "I took Patricia, my wife, off of life support the first of this year and buried her on January 9," said Facemire, 73, who served in the Air Force from 1967-1971. "You get married and you never think you'll be single again, but here I am. Those last two months together were just hell, what she had to go through. "Then look how the rest of this year has played out. Even through all of this, what everyone has gone through, I still see so many cars out here. I come out here first thing in the morning, the sun is just coming up, and there are cars out here." Western Reserve typically participates in the yearly Wreaths Across America (WAA) campaign, which was drastically altered this year due to COVID-19 safety restrictions. Formal wreath placement ceremonies were not opened to the public but were recorded and made available Saturday, this year's designated Wreaths Across America Day. Wreath laying also took place before Saturday during specified hours and with social distancing measures in place. Facemire was born in Brunswick and met his wife when both were teenagers just prior to his Vietnam service. His parents, the late Guy and Katie Facemire, are also honored at Western Reserve as World War II service members. "My father was all over the Pacific and I know my mothers was involved with all sorts of office work here at home, both for the Army," he said. "Neither of them liked to talk about it that much afterwards. I've always been told my mom's oldest brother was one of the first men to die in World War II. I think she was stationed in Kansas. The talk of their service was always seldom. I know dad saw a lot." Tragically, Facemire has another family immediate family member laying at Western Reserve, 10175 Rawiga Road, Rittman. The veteran's daughter, Medina resident Tawnia Wright, died in 2017 following a battle with cancer. "We were the same age, my wife and I," said Facemire. "She was born Oct. 25, 1947 and I was July 11. We're always told the way things usually work is the men die first. My mother died before my father. My wife died before me and my daughter died before her husband. You don't expect that. Life is strange. You can only love them and miss them." Coping mechanisms can be hard to come by even in more normal times, Facemire said. He offered words of advice for others seeking light at the end of a personal tunnel or navigating continued pandemic hurdles. "I talk to God a lot," he said. "It's the biggest thing in my life right now. The Lord in our lives has made things a little better. You have to remember that you'll see people you love again. Stuff hurts when it takes you by surprise, but you're still here. Try and make the most of that. It's been very, very hard some days, but I've just been trying to get through this. I hope everyone, no matter how their year's gone, can get through it." Contact reporter Jonathan Delozier at (330)721-4050 or jdelozier@medina-gazette.com.