CARTERVILLE, Mo. — A new addition to the Carterville Cemetery is honoring a man who honored local veterans.

Monday morning, a memorial bench was installed in memory of Calvin Divine, who passed away in December of 2020.

Mr. Divine was a U.S Navy veteran, and spent his final years creating three memorials in the cemetery to honor veterans of the Civil War, World War I, and World War II.

His daughter, Kallie, spent a little more than a year raising money for her father’s bench, which overlooks the memorials.

“It just makes me really happy. We are glad to see he did so much for the city of Carterville and the cemetery. That it’s kind of our way of giving back to him and saying thank you for all you have done,” she said.

The extra money raised for the bench is going towards the purchase of 400 new flags for the graves of veterans.

The The Carterville Cemetery Association completed the last two memorials Mr. Divine was unable to finish, the Korean and Vietnam veterans memorials.

The hope is to have them installed by Veteran’s Day.