Medal of Honor Memorial Monument
Hello to all my name is Ramon M Dang Sr., I served on Active Duty for the Army 31 years. I am member of my local VFW, American Legion, HOG, and two (2) Veteran Motorcycle Associations.
About nine (9) years ago my wife and I started a project to clean up Medal of Honor (MoH) graves, while I was stationed in Yakima, WA. With our children and fellow CVMA®️members started cleaning MoH graves in Washington state, Oregon, and some in Idaho. We do this yearly and eventually it has grown to other people helping us out. In 2017 I started my first GoFundMe mission for SSG Jack J. Pendleton; he is buried in the Yakima Tahoma Cemetery in Yakima, WA. He is a MoH recipient; his mother is buried next to him which you can’t see due to the overgrowth of grass. We cleaned his grave and did it yearly on Memorial Day. The sad part is he is not buried with the rest of the Military side of the burial site. The cost of his memorial was quite expensive but we got it done, with the help of several Veteran groups, companies, and of course the Yakima community. That mission was completed in 2018:
We currently live in North Carolina and I have a new mission. We’ve start cleaning up MoH Recipients graves in North Carolina. All of the cleaning supplies, flags (US and MoH), flowers, gas, food, and lodgings are all paid out of pocket. I am not asking for any of you to fund my rides and my passion, I do this all on my own dime. This is because I want them to be remembered, but what I am needing help on is the cost of building the memorial. I found another MoH Recipient that is forgotten and not even “Grave Finder” knew where he was buried. He is SFC Eugene Ashley Jr., he is a MoH Recipient that has been forgotten, he is buried in Rockfish Memorial Park in Hope Mills. With vigilance I found him, and several hundreds of forgotten Veterans in this memorial park!
We say they will “Will Never Be Forgotten” but they have been. I saw how lonely they are, no flowers nor vase for flowers and no wreath; since December are Wreath Across America (WAA) nationwide. The purpose of my ride is to go to different cemeteries all over North Carolina to clean up their graves and pay my respects for their ultimate sacrifice to our Nation. Please help me raise funds to give back to this great hero that is buried in our community. He deserves a lot more than what he has now.
Trying to get the work started when I receive enough donations for a down payment, hoping to unveil it on a Memorial weekend. This all depends on funding and design of the memorial, no amount is to small to help the cause. I will continue the MoH ride every year to clean up and show my respects to these great selfless service heroes. I love to ride and what is better than to ride and pay respects to those that served. The funds are for the monument and all the prep-work (labor), flag poles for US and MoH Flag.
Thank you very much Ramon M. Dang Sr. CSM(R)