Joplin Globe
Mt. Hope Cemetery IN HONOR - Woman’s project seeks to decorate veterans’ headstones during National Wreaths Across America Day BY KIMBERLY BARKER kbarker@joplinglobe.com WEBB CITY, Mo. — The daughter of a late World War II veteran in Webb City is aiming to decorate the headstones of more than 1,000 veterans buried at Mount Hope Cemetery later this year and is seeking support from thecommunity. Susie Crutcher, local project coordinator, has partnered with Friends of Mount Hope Cemetery and national nonprofit Wreaths Across America to place live wreaths at the gravesites of approximately 1,100 veterans this winter. She kicked off the project earlier this year and hopes to garner support from the community to make it a success. Crutcher is the oldest daughter of Bruce Benson, a U.S. Army veteran of WWII who played taps on his cornet every day at sun- down near the Webb City post office to dis- play the love and patriotism he had for his country..Knownwidelybythecommunityas “Webb City’s Bugle Boy,” Benson had lived in Webb City for 73 years. He died at age 95 in 2020. “I’ve grown up with this very patriotic sense, and Dad was called over to the Fort Scott National Cemetery several times to participate in Wreaths Across America or play the bugle call as they laid the wreaths,” Crutcher said. “One time, he had gone down to the J.B. Hunt Transport Services in Arkansas and played the national anthem as the trucks were pulling out with the wreaths. We got to know about it, and I’ve always wondered why it hasn’t been done at Mount Hope.” Wreaths Across America is a 501(c)(3) non- Susie Crutcher places a wreath on her father’s grave recently at Mount Hope Cemetery. Crutcher is the oldest daughter of Bruce Benson, a U.S. Army veteran of World War II who played taps on his cornet every day at sundown near the Webb City post office. Known widely by the community as “Webb City’s Bugle Boy,” Benson had lived in Webb City for 73 years. He died at age 95 in 2020. profit organization