Charlie Daniels’ Grave Vandalized
Charlie Daniels' friends and family are upset about separate acts of vandalism and theft at the late country singer's gravesite. Daniels — who died two years ago next Wednesday (July 6) — is buried at a cemetery near his former home in Mount Juliet, Tenn.
A social media post by Team CDB let the Charlie Daniels Band founder's fans know that a dogwood tree sapling was stolen, along with the watering bag that kept it alive. Additionally, someone glued a military ID belonging to his or her spouse to the marble edge of the grave marker.
"MJPD (Mount Juliet Police Department) will be increasing patrols near his grave & video surveillance will soon be installed," the note shares.
Daniels was laid to rest at Mt. Juliet Memorial Gardens during a private ceremony shortly after his death. Several months later, a grave marker with Psalm 91 was added (per WKRN-TV in Nashville). Daniels' son, Charlie Daniels Jr., said he was taking over his father's social media accounts after his death, but for the most part, any signature on a tweet or Instagram post reads "TeamCDB."
The theft of a tree would be very unusual, but a look at the grave site over time shows that fans have been leaving items at Daniels' gravesite since the marker was laid in October 2020. A variety of ball caps, coins, painted rocks and stuffed animals have been left behind. This video — when compared to the above post — shows the turnover. At least one person in the comments section recognized this.
"CD (Charlie Daniels) meant a lot to a lot of Vets," @jazz.aktion writes. "The MID (military ID) thing doesn't seem like such an act of vandalism as they're probably rocking in heaven together."
The majority of people who engaged with the Instagram post were very upset, however, if not ashamed by what some people will do. The Monday afternoon (June 27) message makes clear how Daniels' family feels about leaving items behind with permanence.
UPDATE: Charlie Daniels' TeamCDB commented on Taste of Country's social media post of this story, clarifying the family's position on this matter. The full text of that post appears below:
Per article: “The Monday afternoon (June 27) message makes clear how Daniels' family feels about leaving items behind with permanence.”
What the article doesn’t make clear is that several months ago, an expired military dependent (spouse’s) ID of a woman who has since been divorced from her military spouse was superglued to the marble on the marker. The family welcomes anyone leaving items, what they do not want is to have items glued to the marker, or have any trees that the family planted nearby (with the full consent of the cemetery owner) dug up and stolen. - TeamCDB
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