OK Veteran Honors State's Veterans And Preserves Their Stories

An Oklahoma Navy veteran has traveled to American military cemeteries all over the world to find people from Oklahoma who served and preserve their stories.

Michael Beach began his travels over 15 years looking for Oklahoma soldiers, but it all started in Normandy. Beach had his grandfather's World War II service patch and was trying to figure out what to do with it.

"I went to Normandy because he always said he had been to Normandy, but I didn't feel like the cemetery there was a proper place for it," Beach said.

It was there that Beach found the first headstone of a soldier from Oklahoma. Beach said it was a moment he will never forget. He then found a total of 20 Oklahoma soldiers there.

Since they were buried so far away from home, Beach decided he wanted to make sure they had a part of Oklahoma with them. That's when he started placing rose rocks on their headstones.

"That way, it would be there forever if possible, and that way, there's a little piece of Oklahoma in each of the cemeteries," Beach said.

While the work of finding Oklahoma soldiers and learning and preserving their stories has been difficult at times, Beach said he couldn't stop. He wanted to keep these people's memories alive.

It's all about the families. Beach has met the families of over 100 Oklahoma soldiers learning as much as he can so the soldiers can live on.

This includes keeping Joe Keith's story alive. Beach spoke to several families in Collinsville about his work and the help they've provided. Keith was one of six Collinsville natives who served and died in either World War I or World War II.

Keith's family said it meant the world to them that Beach would go to so much effort for so many people.

"Just the fact that someone would spend that much time, letting us know how important our soldiers are to us. It's invaluable," Thomas Henley, Joe Keith's cousin said.

While Beach has been visiting cemeteries and preserving the stories of Oklahoma soldiers for years now, he knows there are still countless more to be told.