Dozens came out on a windy Veteran鈥檚 Day afternoon to honor Black military men and women whose gravesites in Haltom City had fallen into disrepair over the years.
The re-dedication ceremony took place at New Trinity Cemetery, which had been restored over the past few months by groups like the American Legion, local churches and the Tarrant County Sheriff鈥檚 Office.
Speakers called for members of the public to help with ongoing preservation efforts.
Chad Page, commander of , was involved in restoring the cemetery and organizing the ceremony.
鈥淚t means a lot to us that we do this,鈥� Page told 四虎影院. 鈥淚t just kind of snowballed and grew.鈥�
New Trinity contains the gravesites of over 500 Black veterans whose stories had been largely forgotten before the restoration took place. Page said he feels the site is historically significant enough to become a destination for visitors.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to start having some classes out here that people can participate in,鈥� he added. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to start fixing gravestones 鈥� not just the veteran stones. We鈥檙e going to take care of everything out here.鈥�
Pastor Kyev Tatum of said the public has 鈥渁 golden opportunity to secure the future鈥� of New Trinity and repay the veterans buried there for their service.
鈥淭hey took the blows and the brunt of racism, discrimination and sexism because they, too, wanted America to know that we, too, are Americans,鈥� Tatum said.
Restoration and documentation efforts came in large part from the work of those in the criminal justice system serving community service sentences.
Officer Kelley Jenkins said some of those in unit who worked on the restoration felt strongly enough about it to come back as volunteers.
鈥淥ur participants are super grateful and super proud of what they've done,鈥� Jenkins told 四虎影院. 鈥淭hey're just excited as we are.鈥�
鈥淭hese guys, they could be sitting in jail, but they were out here with us and they鈥檙e a part of history now,鈥� Jenkins said.
One of the trumpeters performing Taps, Leo Saenz, said it was an honor to be at the event, especially with the knowledge that his uncle is buried in the cemetery.
鈥淗istory is very important,鈥� Saenz said. 鈥淚f we don鈥檛 respect our history, especially those people that paved the way to get here, then we're in some troubled times.鈥�
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