Joint Base Lewis-McChord, WA – Service members from Joint Base Lewis-McChord will join forces with members of several other community organizations to clean headstones at the Soldiers Home cemetery in Orting on Saturday, May 14 from 9 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
According to Washington Department of Veterans Affairs officials, many of the white marble-composite headstones at the cemetery are stained from environmental exposure, but are too fragile to withstand harsh scrubbing or detergents.
More than 100 volunteers from JBLM’s Better Opportunities for Single Service Members (BOSS) program and Graham-Kapowsin High School Junior ROTC will join the “Rod-Knockers” Classic Hotrod Club in an effort to hand-wash each of the 1,800 headstones in the cemetery in preparation for Memorial Day. The volunteers will clean from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., followed by lunch from 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. at the Soldiers Homepicnic pavilion.