Project NAGA® 2024 Mission Summary

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In 2024, the NAGA® team continued its mission across the United States — traveling thousands of miles through Kansas, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania — to find, record, and honor the resting places of veterans whose names, service, and stories might otherwise fade from public memory. Building upon the discoveries of 2023, the team’s journey this year stretched over several months, capturing a sweeping record of sacrifice across five national cemeteries and spanning more than a century of American military history.

Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery (KS) – The journey began on the historic plains of Kansas,where 18 headstones from the Civil War and World War I bore the promise “You Are Not Forgotten.” Among them: Sgt Roy S. Robbins, Maj Albert T. Payne Duval, Pvt Cyrus T. Dorr, and 1st Lt Charles H. Shumaker — early soldiers whose names re-emerged into memory.

North Dakota Veterans Cemetery (Mandan, ND) – Across the northern plains, 11 veterans were honored: SSG Vernon John Gutenkunst (Persian Gulf), A1C Lelan Arthur Derr (Vietnam), A1C David Donald Dost (Korea), and Cpl Merle Lee Schrank (Vietnam), their markers standing in wind-swept silence beneath twin flags.

Dayton National Cemetery (OH) – In Dayton, 11 veterans — from Capt James C. DeLong (WWI) to Cpl Richard H. Tangeman (Vietnam) — rest in perfect rows, each plaque inscribed “You Are Not Forgotten,” echoing the mission’s enduring refrain.

Fort Sill National Cemetery (Elgin, OK) – On Oklahoma’s open hills, 8 veterans spanning WWII to Vietnam were recorded: MSgt Louis F. Volak, SP4 Ronnie L. Richards, Cpl Luther I. Butler, and RMSN William Dwight Webb, whose stone reads “Safe in the Arms of God.”

Washington Crossing National Cemetery (Newtown, PA) – The final stop returned East, where 29 veterans — including PFC Doris M. Heaton (USAAF WWII) and SP5 Sallie L. Lawhorn (U.S. Army) — stood among generations united by inscriptions like “Proudly Served” and “Gone but Not Forgotten.”

From Kansas to Pennsylvania, the 2024 journey reaffirmed NAGA’s purpose: to restore names to memory, connect eras of service, and ensure that no veteran’s story fades. Each stone photographed, each name spoken, is a living pledge that remembrance itself is service.