Volunteers Identify Forgotten Iowa Veterans' Graves

A volunteer effort led by Clive resident Mike Rowley is documenting veterans from the Revolutionary War through recent conflicts buried across Iowa.

Updated on Nov. 11, 2026 in Military Jobs

Volunteers Identify Forgotten Iowa Veterans' Graves

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Should more Iowa communities actively work to honor veterans in unmarked graves?

Mike Rowley of Clive, a member of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War who is not himself a veteran, leads volunteers who research and document service members whose final resting places in Iowa had gone unrecognized. The group has identified 41 Revolutionary War veterans who chose Iowa as their final home, along with more than 1,000 War of 1812 veterans.

Why it matters

Rowley noticed gaps in the information and history available about service men and women, and the volunteer work is filling them in. The effort has also surfaced Civil War nurses and veterans who died at state mental health institutions and had never been honored for their service.

Volunteers have identified 41 Revolutionary War veterans and more than 1,000 War of 1812 veterans buried in Iowa. Rowley has personally installed 452 headstones across seven states on graves of soldiers in conflicts dating back to 1775.

The players

Mike Rowley

Rowley is a Clive resident and member of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War who leads volunteer efforts to identify and mark unrecognized veterans' graves, though he is not himself a veteran.

Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War

The Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War is a heritage organization whose members descend from or honor Union soldiers of the American Civil War.

Iowa Veterans Cemetery

The Iowa Veterans Cemetery is a state-operated burial ground for military veterans and their eligible family members, where the Veterans Day ceremony was held.

The details

Volunteers researched, documented, recorded and shared information to identify service members whose graves lacked recognition, including Civil War nurses never honored in their lifetimes and veterans of more recent conflicts who lived in state-run mental health facilities. Veterans who died at institutions in Clarinda, Cherokee and Independence have since received recognition and military honors. Rowley was the keynote speaker at a Veterans Day ceremony at the Iowa Veterans Cemetery.

1775: Earliest conflict dating of soldiers whose graves Rowley has marked.
November 11, 2026: Rowley keynoted a Veterans Day ceremony at the Iowa Veterans Cemetery.

Historical Parallel

The effort extends the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War's tradition of documenting service members' graves to Revolutionary War, War of 1812 and more recent conflicts. It reaches beyond the Civil War era to recognize veterans across more than two centuries of American military service.

Iowans with family members who served in early conflicts may find that graves of their ancestors are being documented and marked. The Veterans Day ceremony at the Iowa Veterans Cemetery offers a public venue to observe the recognition of these service members.

The takeaway

Volunteer research can close gaps in the official record, so families who suspect an ancestor's service went unrecorded may be able to contribute documentation to efforts like Rowley's. Recognition often depends on someone taking the time to look.