Memorial Day Archives - Page 3 of 47

September 11, 2025

Nonprofit organizes volunteers to preserve Fort Sam Houston Cemetery

Events around STL honors 9/11 with day of service, remembrance

ST. LOUIS (Fox 2) – Thursday marks 24 years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and Patriot Day has become a national day of service and remembrance, with events happening across the country, including in St. Louis.

The non-profit group ‘Carry The Load’ is leading a major cleanup effort at more than 60 cemeteries, including Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, where volunteers will clean headstones and beautify the grounds.

Organizers emphasize that these events are proactive ways to connect Americans to the sacrifices made by military and first responder communities. So far, 110 volunteers are already registered for the event at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery.

The initiative is a part of the organization’s annual nationwide Patriot Day event, which has been hosted since 2019. The group also organizes volunteer events on Memorial Day and Veterans Day to honor and remember the nation’s heroes.

You can still register to volunteer for Thursday’s event at Jefferson Barracks by clicking here.

September 11, 2025

Where to commemorate 9/11 across the state today

CPR News

By: Sandy Battulga

DENVER (CPR News) – A series of memorial climbs and other ceremonies are scheduled to take place across Colorado today to remember the victims of 9/11 on the 24th anniversary of the attack.

On the morning of September 11, 2001, al-Qaeda hijackers flew two planes into the World Trade Center towers in New York City, killing thousands of people. A third plane crashed into the Pentagon in Virginia and a fourth flight went down in a field in rural Pennsylvania.

In the years since, organizations around the state have continued to put on events to remember both the victims and the first responders who rushed to aid them.

Patriot Day Commemoration at Fort Logan National Cemetery (4400 W Kenyon Ave., Denver, CO 80236)

Commemorate 9/11 by volunteering to clean headstones at Fort Logan National Cemetery.

In collaboration with the non-profit organization Carry the Load, military cemeteries across the country observe Patriot Day every year on 9/11. Volunteers can sign up to help beautify the grounds of Fort Logan on Carry the Load's website. The dress code indicates no open-toe shoes or tank tops.

The event goes from 9:30 am to 1 p.m.

September 11, 2025

List of metro Atlanta ceremonies remembering victims

Finnoexpert

September 11, 2025

National non-profit cleans over 800 headstones to honor fallen heroes

Newsbreak

By: Ajay Patel

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Newsbreak) – Flags flew at half-staff as people wore red, white, and blue to honor the veterans on these headstones.

"We need to remember that that happened. If the firefighters weren't there, if those police weren't there, if those service members weren't there, who knows what would have happened," Daniel Murton said.

Murton, a Navy veteran, traveled from Florence to participate in the ceremony at the Lexington National Cemetery. The event honored not just those lost on 9/11, but all people who put their lives on the line to protect freedom.

"Appreciate what you have here because a lot of other countries, you might not be able to say what you want to say. You can't do what you want to do," Murton said.

He helped clean more than 800 headstones alongside other volunteers. Carry the Load, the national non-profit that hosted the National Day of Remembrance, says there are more than 5,000 volunteers nationwide participating in similar ceremonies.

"I want to do something, you know, to help veterans and, you know, especially veterans that died in war, and I think that this is an opportunity to do that on this date. Since so many people were killed, you know, firefighters, police, and other first responders, you know, people that are trying to defend us," Murton said.

Some volunteers placed pennies on veterans' headstones, a tradition to honor these heroes who are no longer with us.

"Trying to humanize the stone itself, you know, and recognize that these are actual people, their names, there's people on the ground here, you know, so that's, I think, you know, makes it more special. It makes the connection more real," Rebecca Gibbs said.

Gibbs, another Navy veteran, brought her children to the ceremony to teach them about the importance of sacrifice and service.

She wanted to show them "how lucky we are every day to have people that protect us, that guide us," Gibbs said.

But on the contrary: "Not to be fearful. So yeah, we've talked about that the first time he saw the image of planes going into the Twin Towers. I mean, it's frightening, you know, he talked about it for a very long time," said Gibbs. "It was frightening, right? But to, for, for, uh, me, you know, reminding him that, you know, we've taken precautions now, we have contingencies."

Regardless of age, people who volunteer understand that without first responders and veteran protection, we wouldn't have the luxury of freedom.

"We need people to do those jobs," Murton said.

September 11, 2025

People remember the victims and first responders of 9/11

Kare 11

September 11, 2025

Volunteers help Northwoods cemetery ‘carry the load’ by cleaning headstones

WSAW

By: Brianna Weaver

HARSHAW, Wis. (WSAW) - A Northwoods community is honoring the sacrifices our military and first responders have made.

More than 60 cemeteries across the country are helping spruce up headstones and areas for the national Carry the Load event, including the Northwoods National Cemetery in Harshaw.

“Any one person can’t carry the entire load. Many hands make light work, as they say,” said Bryon Gleisner, Manager of the Northwoods National Cemetery. “So, the more hands that we have, you’re helping carry part of that load, part of that responsibility to educate the folks that weren’t around during 9/11 about those events, about freedom, about what freedom means.”

“It’s my chance to give back to veterans that have lost their lives, brothers and sisters that didn’t have a chance other than, unfortunately, a time like this,” said volunteer and USMC veteran Cody Smith.

Smith served in the military for seven years. Five of those he was active duty in the Marines, and the other two were served in the Air National Guard.

This may be Smith’s first time helping Carry the Load, but when he saw the email looking for volunteers, he jumped to help.

“When I hear a veteran or somebody thanks me for my service, to me, I volunteer to do it, so it’s not about the veterans, it’s about seeing people that are doing something selfless. They don’t have to come out here. So, when I see that, it makes me feel good,” he said.

Smith encourages anyone to volunteer, whether that be for Carry the Load events or similar ones.

Watch the story here.

September 11, 2025

On Sept. 11th, volunteers clean headstones at Baltimore National Cemetery

Newsbreak

By: Jack Watson

BALTIMORE (Newsbreak) – On September 11, 2001, Sara Marlow was was a high school student in Brooklyn, New York.

"I remember walking home from high school, and the ashes were falling down from the sky," Marlow recalled.

Marlow enlisted in the military after high school, and is now the director at Baltimore National Cemetery in Catonsville. On the 24th anniversary of September 11, dozens of volunteers gathered at the cemetery Thursday morning to honor service members and first responders by cleaning and aligning headstones.

"For all my battle buddies that didn't come home," Marlow added, "for all my friends, my brothers and sisters in arms that didn't come home, that's why I'm out here today. Because I don't want to forget, I don't want my children to forget. I don't want anybody to forget."

Volunteers took a silent moment to reflect and remember where they were on 9/11. Andrew Cohen was across from the Pentagon that day.

"My children weren't around for it, but I want to make sure they remember. And I felt really compelled to do my part and support the effort," Cohen told WMAR-2 News.

John Collins traveled from Derwood with his family and business to participate, "to give back to the veterans here who are laid to rest, and make sure the cemetery is in as good as possible condition for them."

The Baltimore volunteer opportunity was part of a nationwide effort coordinated by the nonprofit organization Carry the Load, which holds similar ceremonies on Memorial Day and Veterans Day to honor military personnel and first responders.

Carry the Load partnered with the Department of Veterans Affairs’ National Cemetery Administration, holding volunteer events at about 70 cemeteries nationwide.

"There's so many people buried here, or buried because they fought in a war after [the attacks]," Marlow pointed out.

The volunteers spent their morning beautifying several rows of headstones; a way to pay tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

Watch the story here.

September 11, 2025

Volunteers remember 9/11 on Patriot Day at Raleigh National Cemetery

Spectrum News 1

By: Aaron Thompson

RALEIGH, N.C. (Spectrum News 1) — Patriot Day marks the 24th year since Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. It serves as a day of remembrance for the nearly 3,000 lives lost.

More than 50 volunteers gathered Thursday at the Raleigh National Cemetery, as part of the Carry the Load National Day of Service & Remembrance for military and first responders who died during the Sept. 11 attacks.

Among the group was volunteer Carlos Santiago, a volunteer with UBS who says the day carries deep personal meaning. He was living in Manhattan during the attacks and says the twin towers were part of his everyday view.

“The towers was actually my view for every single day. I was right across the street from it,” Santiago said.

The years after the attack were difficult for this New Yorker to navigate. Now in North Carolina, he still chooses to remember the friend he lost.

“Every day this day comes… I think about him,” he said.

Others, like Angelia Fajri, were there to honor the service members who followed in the years after 9/11. Her son, Justin, was inspired by the attacks to join the military right out of high school.

“Justin always liked the military and anything that has anything to do with honoring the flag, honoring the country,” Fajri said.

Organizers of the event say Patriot Day is not only a time of remembrance for those who died on 9/11 but also a chance to reflect on the generations who’ve served before and since.

“It’s just a way of individually remembering them and ensuring that they’re not forgotten as people,” said John Hanken, a Carry the Load ambassador.

Santiago said that being among the volunteers today, he is reminded that we are stronger united as a country.

"There are people here that probably have different beliefs than I have, right? But we're all working together, right? For a better cause. And that's what America is all about. That's what it needs to be all about.”

Watch the story here.

September 11, 2025

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