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Fairchild Airmen find a new way to honor the past

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Taylor Curry
  • 92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash. --  Fairchild Airmen voluntarily cleaned gravestones at Fort George Wright Cemetery, Spokane, Wash., on Sept. 7, honoring past service members and their families.

The effort was coordinated by Master Sgt. Jeffrey Wurn, 92nd Maintenance Squadron munitions flight chief, as a different way to observe Patriot Day, a national day of service and remembrance of 9/11 proclaimed by President Obama.

"I was highly impressed by the motivation of the volunteers," said Wurn. "To my knowledge, this hasn't been done before according to the Civil Engineer and Force Support Squadrons."

Forty-nine volunteers including children of current service members armed with buckets of water, soft-bristle brushes, cloths and even toothbrushes scrubbed away moss, dirt and other buildup from over the years.

"9/11 is a proclaimed a National Day of remembrance and service," said Col. Brian Newberry, 92nd Air Refueling Wing commander. "I salute Master Sgt. Wurn for his vision to clean Ft. Wright Cemetery's headstones and all the Airmen and their families who came out to help. There is no better way to serve in honor of Patriot Day than to serve those veterans and their families who served long ago."

Ft. Wright Cemetery, constructed in the 1890s, located approximately 11 miles away from Fairchild, is home to nearly 700 graves of service members and their families. The location was selected to overlook the Spokane River. In 1900, remains from Fort Sherman and Fort Spokane were disinterred and moved to Fort George Wright Cemetery.

"I really didn't expect that many volunteers, but I'm extremely glad they came out," said Wurn.