Couple's hobby leads to proper headstone for Civil War veteran

Civilians Richard and Joni Smith are a couple that share long family ties to the military and a fascination with genealogy.

This has led them to the discovery of several things in common they wouldn't otherwise know about one another: they have ancestors who fought on opposite sides of the American Revolution. Richard's ancestor, Phillipp Heimrich Stuber, was a German mercenary, fighting for the Redcoats. Joni's, John Mudgett, was an American. Richard said they actually had ancestors who arrived to America on the same ship in 1630.

It was this hobby that led Joni to her great-grandfather James Harvey Stinson's gravesite in Belfast, Maine.

"We started building upon what we already knew. She told me ab her great-grandfather Stinson, and we started searching for his grave. Initially, we couldn't find it," Richard said.

Once at the correct cemetery, she still couldn't find his plot. A caretaker directed her to the burial site, which was unmarked, aside from a metal marker hanging from a rod commemorating his wife, Clara.

This led Joni to contact the National Archives and Veterans Affairs. After a year's worth of documentation and back and forth, a proper stone marker was granted to James Harvey Stinson in the summer of 2014. Though Joni knew of his service, she did not know before digging into archival work that he had been seriously wounded at the Battle of Spotsylvania: A bullet went through his face--taking out several teeth and nearly severing his tongue, Richard said. He went on to become an alderman in Belfast, Maine, and died in 1918.

Both Richard and Joni's fathers were World War II veterans. Richard's father, Norman Smith, served from 1944 - 1946 with the Navy. Before that, he had worked at an armory in Massachusetts as a machinist.

"That’s where he met my mom. She was a woman ordinance worker, and he was assigned to teach the women certain elements of the machine. When he saw her, totally to her surprise, he kissed her. She was his first girlfriend and they've been married now since Sept. 1, 1943. They are still happily married," Richard said.

Richard's brother, Norman Smith, Jr., served in the Air Force from 1962-1966, enlisting right out of high school. Both Norman, Jr. is a member of Post 124 in Westfield, Mass.

Joni's father, William Harford, served in the Army during WWII. Four of her brothers served as well. Bill Harford served in the Army during Vietnam and is a member of Post 291 in Newport Harbor, Calif. Jeff Harford served in the Army as an Apache helicopter pilot and later trained new pilots. Steven Harford served in the Air Force, as did Jerome Harford, who served in Vietnam.

Joni's siblings are now spread across the country. They hope to coordinate a time for an honors service to dedicate Stinson's grave marker later this year. Richard said it’s important to honor veterans, such as Stinson, even posthumously.

"They served in order to protect our freedoms and we're just deeply grateful for that," he said.