LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A group of Louisville volunteers spent Sunday standing in for the families of fallen soldiers.
Zachary Taylor National Cemetery is the final resting place for more than 1,500 U.S. service members from around the country who died in mass casualty events during World War II. The deaths occurred in plane crashes, ship fires or tank explosions, where service members remains couldn't be identified.
"They basically were all just swept together, put into a box and brought home," volunteer Mike King said.
Families of the servicemen killed in mass casualty events were not given a choice to where there loved ones would be buried. The cemetery in east Louisville and two others were chosen by the U.S. military because of its central location.
U.S. servicemembers were remembered at Zachary Taylor Cemetery on Sept. 11, 2022.
Dozens of volunteers read out the names of the service members who were laid to rest at Zachary Taylor National Cemetery.
For King, it was a promise to a woman he only met once.
"She said she had illness and she was going to pass away shortly after that and no one would visit her brother's grave again," King said. "So every year I come out to make sure someone says his name out loud and so he's not forgotten."
The cemetery has 341 group grave sites. Among the fallen is Louisville's Lt. Fred Schloemer.
Schloemer, a Louisville Male High School grad and former University of Louisville football team captain, died when his submarine was bombed during a German air raid.
"Because of the time and distance, many if not all of their immediate family have passed so we stand in for the families and taken their place," said Jo Shipley, a volunteer.
The group of volunteers wants to ensure no one is forgotten.
Anyone is invited to lay a flower and visit one of the mass grave sites at Zachary Taylor Cemetery. The mass grave sites are located in the section of the cemetery closest to Brownsboro Road.
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