SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. -- More than 45 students and instructors of Airman Leadership School Class 16-C tracked down and mapped locations of 350 veterans buried at Elmwood Cemetery, March 12.
The veterans will be honored during future observances and recognition days.
“Being able to come out here and honor the veterans from the past is the reason why I’m here today,” said Senior Airman Daniel Shores, 4th Security Forces Squadron assistant NCO in charge of the armory. “Coming out here with the class and being able to see the history of all the veterans we have in the community is something really special. As the military today we wouldn’t be where we are without the military members of the past.”
Master Sgt. Jeffrey Stoner, 4th Force Support Squadron ALS commandant, said the Veterans and Patriots coalition and the USO of North Carolina reached out for volunteers from the base. The ALS class stepped up to help identify and locate the veterans who represent more than three different wars, including World War I.
Elmwood Cemetery is located off Highway 117 and is one of Goldsboro, North Carolina’s oldest cemeteries. It is also home to the youngest American service member killed during the Vietnam War.
Airmen from ALS class 16-C were divided into groups of three to search a section of the cemetery to locate veterans’ gravestones, which was then annotated on a ledger. Previous ALS classes have washed dishes for the Wayne County Purple Heart Dinner, placed flags on gravesites for Memorial Day, as well as processed flags placed out during days of observance which involves sorting, cleaning, pressing and boxing them until they’re needed again.
“Each Airman Leadership School class completes a class project before graduation,” said Stoner. “The class projects we complete demonstrate the impact that a small group can have on a large community.”