Every marker holds a story.

Family inspiration · Vietnam veteran

Joseph Edward Valdez

Specialist Four · United States Army · Fort Logan National Cemetery

Joseph Edward Valdez was born December 16, 1944. He served in the United States Army during the Vietnam War and attained the rank of Specialist Four. He died June 24, 2025, and rests at Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver.

His headstone remembers him as a loving husband, father, and “Papo.” Joseph was the uncle of site founder Timothy Valdez and the primary family inspiration behind Colorado Veterans at Rest.

This memorial begins with Joseph’s family photograph and military headstone. His profile will grow as family memories and additional service records are added.

Family inspiration · World War II veteran

Joe V. Murillo

United States Army · Fort Logan National Cemetery

Joe V. Murillo was born October 6, 1922. He entered the United States Army on March 27, 1943, and served as a private during World War II. He died July 18, 2012, and rests at Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver, Section T1, Site 1268.

He was the grandfather of site founder Timothy Valdez. His service and memory are part of the family inspiration behind Colorado Veterans at Rest—a project created to preserve the lives represented by Colorado’s veterans’ markers.

View the transcribed burial record. This profile will grow as family photographs, memories, and additional service records are added.

Featured story

Silas Soule

First Colorado Cavalry · Riverside Cemetery

Silas Soule is remembered for refusing to take part in the Sand Creek Massacre and later giving testimony about what happened. His life connects military service, conscience, and one of Colorado’s most difficult chapters.

This profile will grow as military records, contemporary accounts, cemetery information, and original sources are added. Read the National Park Service biography.

Medal of Honor

Smith H. Hastings

5th Michigan Cavalry · Riverside Cemetery

Born in Quincy, Michigan, in 1843, Smith Hugh Hastings served as a captain in Troop M of the 5th Michigan Cavalry during the Civil War. At Newbys Crossroads, Virginia, on July 24, 1863, he refused an order to abandon endangered field guns and helped repel an attack, saving the artillery from capture.

Hastings received the Medal of Honor on August 2, 1897, and later attained the rank of colonel. He died in Denver on October 13, 1905, and rests in Riverside Cemetery, plot 3-53.

Read his official Medal of Honor record from the Congressional Medal of Honor Society.

Civil War veteran

William F. Wilder

1st Colorado Infantry · 3rd Colorado Cavalry · Riverside Cemetery

Born in New York in 1837, William F. Wilder entered Union service in August 1861 as captain of Company G, 1st Colorado Infantry. His company fought with the main Union column at the Battle of Glorieta Pass in New Mexico on March 28, 1862, helping defend the territory against the Confederate advance.

Wilder later served as a major in the 3rd Colorado Cavalry, the rank and regiment carved on his military headstone at Riverside Cemetery. The marker gives his years as 1837–1894; some later genealogical records report 1893, so the exact death date remains under review.

View the compiled service record and source list. The photograph was taken at Riverside Cemetery in Denver.

Civil War-era Navy veteran

James A. Purington

United States Navy · Riverside Cemetery

James A. Purington was born April 4, 1835, and died December 26, 1900. His marble military marker at Riverside Cemetery identifies his branch of service simply as the United States Navy.

A Denver Grand Army of the Republic burial register also lists “Purington, J.A.” as a U.S. Navy veteran resting at Riverside and records that his grave had a monument. The surviving online entry does not name his ship, rating, or service dates, so those details remain part of the continuing research.

View the Denver Public Library’s transcribed veteran burial register. Some modern records spell the surname “Purrington,” while the headstone and register use “Purington.”