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Volunteers clean National Cemetery to mark 9/11

September 12, 2024

WREG CBS Memphis

By: Alan Selph

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Wednesday marked a somber anniversary — 23 years since the 9/11 attacks. As we remember the lives lost, a national nonprofit is calling on Americans to come together and honor those who sacrificed for our freedom. Carry The Load is a nonprofit founded by two Navy SEALs. Wednesday, the group hosted a National Day of Service and Remembrance at Memphis National Cemetery. Volunteers cleaned headstones and the grounds, joining efforts at 67 National Cemeteries across the country. “With fifty of us, I’m going to guess we’ll probably clean six or seven hundred headstones today,” said Sean O’Brien, a veteran and coordinator. He shared his 9/11 memories. “I was a part of the Air National Guard at the time, a full time guardsman. We went out to do a project,” he said. “When 9/11 hit, I was woken up from the numbers I was working and told to look at the TV, and when we got there the second plane hit.” Another volunteer, JaiKeisha Forrest-Andrews, says she has friends who lost loved ones in the attack and still struggle to talk about it today. “I had a couple of coworkers who, one son and another one who lost a husband,” she said. “To talk to them is still painful. For them to know that they lost their loved ones, just traveling, trying to get back home.” O’Brien emphasizes the importance of community gatherings like this to keep memories alive and ensure sacrifices aren’t forgotten.

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Volunteers clean National Cemetery to mark 9/11

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