HALVORSON TO RECEIVE NEW MARKER, MEMORIAL SERVICE

Elaine (Halvorson) Johnson waited 75 years to find out what happened to her brother, Earl Halvorson, after he went missing in World War II.
Now she is patiently waiting for the Department of Veterans Affairs, National Cemetery Association in Washington D.C. to issue a new military grave marker with a corrected date of his death.
After the war department informed Amelia Halvorson that her son and 79 other crew members aboard the USS Grayback submarine had gone missing and presumed dead, Elaine remembers holding her mother's hand and comforting her as much as possible. Now, Elaine's daughter, Deb Anderson is comforting her mother.
"It's still very emotional for her, even after all these years," said Deb, who lives with her mother in Marshall. "They say time heals, but sometimes it all comes back again."
Amelia Halvorson had to go through a lot of red tape to get the first marker for Earl because he was missing in action and only presumed dead. She even reached out to President Franklin Roosevelt to get approval for the first grave marker, a family member noted.
As the last surviving sibling, Elaine gained some valuable closure when the USS Grayback was finally discovered in 1,400 feet of water off the coast of Japan in November of 2019 by a search team.
Japanese records discovered around that same time indicated that the crew of the USS Grayback perished when the submarine was bombed and sunk on Feb. 27, 1944. Earl's current grave marker located in the Hemnes Cemetery south of Minneota inaccurately indicates his death came on Jan. 12, 1946, the date the war department presumed all the men were dead.
After Elaine and Deb reached out to the Navy and had their request for a new marker denied, they reached out to Representative Michelle Fischbach to see what could be done about getting a replacement marker because the military isn't keen on the idea of issuing a family more than one.
"I don't even think the ink was dry on the letter and I already had a response," said Elaine. "I was surprised to hear back from them so quickly."
With Fischbach's enthusiastic endorsement, the National Cemetery Affairs Association reconsidered and granted the request for a new marker.
Deb and Elaine also connected with the Veterans Administration in Washington, D.C. in late August and were eventually told that a new military grave marker would be issued in around 30-45 days. But military regulations do not allow a marker to be delivered to individuals.
"They don't want someone to put a marker in their garden," said Deb, referring to military's preference of a marker being in a cemetery with other veterans so respects can be made.
"We went to Hamilton Funeral Home in Marshall to see if they would accept the stone on our behalf. They were very helpful and agreed to accept it and let us look at it to make sure everything is right before they place it."
Military regulations also requested the return of the current grave marker, which will be given to the Lyon County VA when the new stone is set down.
Elaine received a template of the grave marker for her approval this past Thursday.
If everything goes according to plan, the family would like to have Earl's new memorial service on Nov. 10, the same day his original memorial was held, or Nov. 11 for Veterans Day. But the memorial service date will depend on when the new stone is delivered.