Ferncliff Cemetery places marker to honor WWII veteran interred at Arlington

Springfield’s Dick Ward was the first Clark County man to die in World War II.
Rob Kelly, a member of the Ferncliff Cemetery grounds crew, brushes off the new grave marker for Medal of Honor winner and Clark County native James Richard Ward after placing it in the World War II veterans section at Ferncliff Wednesday, July 10, 2024. The remains of Ward, who was killed on the USS Oklahoma at Pearl Harbor, were recently recovered and identified. His family asked for him to be buried at Arlington Cemetery in Washington D.C. and according to military rules, a veteran can only have one military grave marker and the marker that was placed at Ferncliff was removed. The cemetery recently had another marker made and today it was placed where the old marker was located. BILL LACKEY/STAFF

Rob Kelly, a member of the Ferncliff Cemetery grounds crew, brushes off the new grave marker for Medal of Honor winner and Clark County native James Richard Ward after placing it in the World War II veterans section at Ferncliff Wednesday, July 10, 2024. The remains of Ward, who was killed on the USS Oklahoma at Pearl Harbor, were recently recovered and identified. His family asked for him to be buried at Arlington Cemetery in Washington D.C. and according to military rules, a veteran can only have one military grave marker and the marker that was placed at Ferncliff was removed. The cemetery recently had another marker made and today it was placed where the old marker was located. BILL LACKEY/STAFF
News
By Jessica Orozco
July 11, 2024
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Springfield’s Ferncliff Cemetery found a new way to honor the first Clark County man to die in World War II after Army cemetery policy required Ferncliff remove its government issued memorial marker.

Navy Seaman First Class James Richard “Dick” Ward, 20, gave his life for his U.S. Navy shipmates on Dec. 7, 1941, serving on the USS Oklahoma during the Pearl Harbor attack. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor in 1942 for remaining onboard the ship and guiding his shipmates to safety with a flashlight, going down with the ship.

Ward’s remains were identified in 2021 by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. Ferncliff wanted to honor his sacrifice and connection to Clark County and was issued a bronze cenotaph or marker, executive director Shelley Baker said. The veteran was a stop on both historical and veteran tours.

The family decided to have Ward interred at Arlington National Cemetery, but according to the Office of Army Cemeteries, if an individual is memorialized by a government-issued marker, they cannot be interred at Arlington until that marker has been removed. The government will issue one marker per person, Baker said.

“I think it was a double hit because of the significance of his attachment or connection here to Clark County, being the first man to die in World War II from Clark County, but also how Ferncliff is so dedicated to our veterans section and just what that represents,” Baker said. “A lot of the things we do here at Ferncliff do kind of surround veterans.”

>> Springfield Medal of Honor recipient will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery

Baker said that when someone is buried or memorialized at Ferncliff, there is a feeling of “permanence” or that they will be taken care of “in perpetuity.” In removing Ward’s marker, that sense was gone, although the staff was happy he was interred in the place his family wanted.

“It’s a sense of loss more than once: You have the loss of losing the person, and then you have the loss when you have to take the marker up,” Baker said. “We were consoled by knowing that he’s going to rest among his other fellow comrades in a place of profound national reverence, is how I think of Arlington.”

The loss was felt by more than Ferncliff staff; Baker said the week after the cemetery removed Ward’s cenotaph, two community members came in requesting maps to go see it.

Baker said Ferncliff wanted to continue honoring Ward’s legacy, and the best way to do that was to purchase its own bronze marker to replace the one it removed, which it gave to his family.

A Navy photo of James Richard Ward

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After World War II, 394 men had been buried as unknowns from the ship. Since 2003, at least 362 of those have been identified.

Ward was born in Springfield on Sept. 10, 1921. He graduated in 1939 from Springfield High School, enlisting in the Navy at Cincinnati, on Nov. 25, 1940. After basic training he reported to the battleship USS Oklahoma at Pearl Harbor.

Rob Kelly, a member of the Ferncliff Cemetery grounds crew, places the grave marker for Medal of Honor winner and Clark County native James Richard Ward in place in the World War II veterans section at Ferncliff Wednesday, July 10, 2024. The remains of Ward, who was killed on the USS Oklahoma at Pearl Harbor, were recently recovered and identified. His family asked for him to be buried at Arlington Cemetery in Washington D.C. and according to military rules, a veteran can only have one military grave marker and the marker that was placed at Ferncliff was removed. The cemetery recently had another marker made and today it was placed where the old marker was located. BILL LACKEY/STAFF

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About the Author

Jessica Orozco covers crime, courts, government and more in Clark County for the Springfield-News Sun. She previously covered crime and courts for The Lima News, and before that, Orozco interned at The Columbus Dispatch on the metro desk. Orozco has a bachelor of arts in journalism from Ohio State University, from where she graduated in May 2022.