An “Army” of Volunteers Restore 14 Veteran’s Graves

After months of hard and detailed work, combing through death certificates, military and cemetery records, and contacting many families, the job was completed. The abandoned graves of 14 fallen soldiers have been restored with new headstones, fence posts, flagpoles, and flags. The wars that these veterans served in were from World War l to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. “We had a mission, and we got our mission done,” said Ed Messer, the senior vice commander of VFW Post 7369 of Naples. He says that the project was sparked by a call from a granddaughter, looking for information about her grandfather’s grave. Messer explained that the graveyard was prone to floods, and the original headstones had sunk several inches into the ground. Then, trucks started using the area as an access point, as there was no sign of any gravestones anymore. “Nobody knew they were there,” Messer said, “it wasn’t someone being neglectful.”

In my opinion, this idea really shows how much good there is in society today, hidden under all of the hate and sadness occurring at the moment. The fact that this group of people took it upon themselves to care for the graves of forgotten soldiers, and made sure they were honored for serving our country, proves that mankind is still helping one another, and that our people are always united through and through.

~Brendan