Ken Swearengin, director of the Missouri Veterans Cemetery, serves those who have served

For Ken Swearengin, working for a veterans' cemetery is "a time-honored tradition" and a rare opportunity to serve those who serve our country.

Swearengin is director for the Missouri Veterans Cemetery at Bloomfield, Mo., where he oversees general operations and services and determines eligibility for internment at the cemetery. One of the most important aspects of his job, he said, is to see that everything is conducted "in a dignified and honorable manner."

Swearengin also helps organize the cemetery's three annual events: a Memorial Day ceremony, a Veterans Day ceremony and Wreaths Across America.

Wreaths Across America is a program held nationwide that strives to adorn every veteran's grave with a holiday wreath throughout the month of December with the help of donated wreaths or funds. Swearengin said the event is well supported in Bloomfield.

"It's really a community event," he said. "A lot of people come out and the Boy Scouts and school kids get involved. I think we'll need about 2,000 wreaths this year, so it really takes the effort of an entire community to do something like this."

Swearengin said the event begins with a formal wreath placement ceremony that celebrates soldiers still serving in active duty, those who have been declared missing in action and current or former prisoners of war. After the ceremony, family members and volunteers lay the other wreaths on graves throughout the cemetery.

Many of those volunteers, he said, do not actually have a friend or relative who served in the military but still make an effort to help out.

"Veterans, and all military really, are very well respected in our country," he said. "The military secures our rights and freedoms that are written into the constitution. They are the protectors that stand up and say 'yes, this is our constitution and those rights are inalienable,' and without them, we could lose those rights."

Swearengin said the men and women serving in the military were "honorable people," which is why it is important to take care of veterans' cemeteries and let them know there is a place for them.

"We have several people in our cemetery that have been wounded or captured and held imprisoned," he said. "We have one man who was imprisoned in Vietnam for many years before his remains were identified and returned home. We have a responsibility to take care of these people and give them a place where they can be laid to rest with honor and dignity."

He called his duties "humbling" and said it was "the greatest feeling in the world" to know he can help take care of veterans and their dependents in a time of need.

"To know you can assist their dependents in what I would call their darkest hour, when they need help and people they can lean on to take care of their loved one after they're gone, is a great feeling," Swearengin said. "I'm honored to be one of those people. Everyone that works here is very appreciative and honored to be able to serve them."

Swearengin said he encourages anyone in the region to visit the cemetery and take a moment to honor the heroes of our state.