Volunteers in Tampa, Florida, have come together to honor their fellow Americans by cleaning up a local cemetery for Memorial Day.
Memorial Park Cemetery, located on E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, was neglected until recently and several organizations plan to keep it tidy, Fox 13 reported Sunday.
City leaders had prepared to buy it until someone else did; therefore, officials bought it from that owner.
WATCH — President Trump Participates in a Memorial Day Tribute:
A few weeks ago, volunteers cleaned up the headstones and on Saturday placed almost 500 American flags in preparation for Memorial Day, when the nation remembers those who gave their lives for our freedom.
In a social media post Monday, the White House said Memorial Day is “sacred” before stating the nation will never forget the sacrifices made for freedom:
Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera told Fox the cemetery being in disrepair a few years ago was saddening and did not represent residents’ values. However, the site now has a historic designation, and officials are using ground-penetrating radar to locate gravesites that are hidden from view.
“Every year we come out here, the firefighters, the Cemetery Society, the Veterans Treatment Court Mentors, Vietnam Veterans of America, different organizations and everyday volunteers come out here in Memorial Day month to clean up this cemetery. As a way of just making sure we honor those American heroes, those who died of natural causes and those killed in action,” Viera explained.
In a video shared Sunday, the White House reminded Americans that “Memorial Day isn’t about barbecues or beach days — it’s about those American heroes who gave everything for our freedom.”
On Saturday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and his family helped others clean the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC, the Washington Examiner reported.
Hegseth said it was an opportunity to remind his children and others what Memorial Day is all about:
“What we value, what we celebrate… what we spend our time on is a reflection of what we value,” he said.
