HARRINGTON, Del. - Dozens of volunteers gathered at Hollywood Cemetery to clean and repair Veterans' graves today. The restoration ranged from brushing mold off of grave stones to complete stone resetting due to sinking into the ground.
"When we come together and do this, it's it's very uplifting on the fact of we're bringing back history by cleaning the stones." said Jonathan Miller, a volunteer with the American Legion. "Just let the families that, that are still around to be able to come and see that we've done something really nice for them and, and to help bring the memories back."
The day began with a short demonstration and talk on how to properly care for the graves. Gene Theroux, from Massachusetts, traveled to Delaware to assist with the training. He says he wants to make sure people know the appropriate way to care for the grave stones.
"A lot of people may try to do this, but if they weren't properly trained, people with good intentions can do a lot of damage," said Theroux. "Once the damage occurs, you can't reverse it."
The event was open to the public and volunteers ranged from members of The Sons of the American Legion to regular civilians that wanted to learn and help with the project. Over 100 gravestones were cleaned today and 17-year-old, John Olakowski, says participating in good deeds like this is very important to him.
"These are pieces of history and of our country's history. And honoring the veterans that in some cases gave their lives for the country," said Olakowski. "I greatly respect service members. And I believe they shouldn't be faded from history because no one was willing to just come out and clean a stone."
Today's event took place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Harrington. The Sons of the American Legion are planning a similar event for the spring of 2026, also at Hollywood Cemetery and open to the public.