CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. (WKBW) — More than 30 Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps cadets spent a summer day cleaning and restoring veteran grave markers at Buffalo Cemetery in Cheektowaga.
Cadets from McKinley, Hutch Tech and South Park high schools worked together to raise, level and clean grave markers for around 100 local veterans as part of a service learning project.
"Today we are here, preserving the graves so we could keep the fallen in our memories longer," Yosef Meheretab, an 11th grader at South Park, said.
Mark Ricchiazzi, senior Army instructor at McKinley High School, led one of three JROTC programs participating in Wednesday's event.
"So we're just trying to pay back a little bit and teach the kids a little bit about paying respect to, you know, those who served," Ricchiazzi said.
Ricchiazzi described the hands-on work the cadets performed throughout the day.
"We're cleaning around them. We're digging them out. We're actually removing the ones that are low. We're re-bedding them with some gravel, and then we're resetting them into place," Ricchiazzi said.
Megan Hahin, executive director of the Mount Calvary Heritage Foundation, said the project makes a significant difference in maintaining the cemetery's more than 2,000 grave markers.
"I think it really speaks volumes about our next generation and how much they value and respect our veterans," Hahin said.
WATCH: JROTC cadets restore veteran grave markers at Buffalo Cemetery
The cemetery's history spans more than 150 years, with veterans from multiple conflicts laid to rest on the grounds.
"So our first burials date all the way back to the 1870s, so we have Civil War all the way up until the present. Veterans in this section, there's lots of World War 1, World War 2, and Vietnam veterans that are laid to rest here," Hahin said.
The cadets said the work carried deep personal meaning.
"It's like giving respect back to them for their service, and honoring them," Naw Paw, a 10th grader at McKinley High School, said.
"It means that we are paying respect for all that they sacrificed for us and all they have done for us. We are, we are cleaning and doing the most we could possibly do for what they've done for us," Meheretab said.
Ricchiazzi said he hopes the lessons from Wednesday extend well beyond the cemetery.
"If you could pay respect to a service member that passed away, then you're probably going to pay respect to your parents, to your grandparents, to your neighbors, you know, and that's what we wanna show — we want them to be respectful," Ricchiazzi said.
