For Matthew Priest, Assistant Director of the Fort Sill National Cemetery in Elgin, his job “is a calling.”
“I felt called to be part of it,” Priest explained of the job affiliated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
A native of Cookeville, Tennessee, Priest served as a military policeman and served in both Iraq and Afghanistan between 2008 and 2013. He served in the 810th MP Company.
He first met his wife, Emily, in high school in Cookeville and both graduated from University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
Priest played football, rode bulls and motorcycles not just for the love of it, but to also “impress girls,” he said with a grin.
Prior to coming to Elgin in March 2021, Priest had worked in Culpeper, Virginia, as the director of the Culpeper National Cemetery, and before that he worked for the VA in St. Louis, Missouri, as a cemetery director and director intern and at the Chattanooga National Cemetery in Tennessee.
His extensive experience in this field and he and his wife’s love of moving to different parts of the United States make the job ideal for Priest.
Priest said he really enjoys life here in southwest Oklahoma.
“Since we’ve moved here, we have loved it,” he said, noting that he lives on some property that allows for him to have a ranch-like existence in the Lawton area along with two young sons, aged two and four.
Also, it’s his genuine love of people and helping them when they are making end-of-life decisions, such as where to be buried.
“It’s incredible to meet people from different backgrounds … I feel very blessed,” he said.
Fort Sill National Cemetery, Priest explained, was dedicated in the weeks right after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The location, near Elgin, is on land that was once Indian Territory. Since then, the 391.3-acre site serves an estimated 166,000 veterans, primarily from Oklahoma and Texas.
COMFORTING THE COMMUNITY
While waiting to interview Priest, a woman dropped by his office and asked for information regarding being buried in the cemetery, located west of Elgin in a beautiful setting with a view of the Wichita Mountains. Priest was very patient and kind with the woman which gave a sense of what his day-to-day job is like.
“I really enjoy interacting with people,” he said. “It’s the best part of my job.”
“Much of (the cemetery organization) is run by veterans,” he said, noting the camaraderie he and the other “brothers and sisters” feel while fulfilling this mission.
“We have a team of eight here,” he said, noting that there are multiple burials each day and that they are in charge of conducting the burial, setting headstones and interacting with family members.
“We have people from other states who come here and say they served in Oklahoma and say how they liked Oklahoma and want to be buried here,” he said.
Each year there are over 450 burials conducted at Fort Sill National Cemetery. Burial options include casket (in-ground); cremation (in-ground); cremation (above-ground columbarium); and cremation (scattering garden).
“We have everyone buried here, from (the ranks of) private to general,” he said, noting that there are veterans buried here who served in wars in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan and even one reburied who served in the American Civil War.
“This cemetery will serve veterans and their families for the next 100 years,” added Priest.
“Being myself, doing my job and helping people,” he said. “It’s very fulfilling.”