UCHealth and volunteers of all ages are taking on the task of checking every one of the 20,000 graves at Imperial Memorial Cemetery to map out the veterans who are buried here.
"In years past, it’s true of every cemetery that they weren’t able to keep as good records. We just didn’t have as much information as we have now,” said the general manager at Imperial Memorial Gardens, Derringer Martinez.
This effort is crucial in a community with so many veterans and active military members.
A Military Veteran, Jacobo Varela, is volunteering his Saturday to ensure the sacrifice of every veteran buried here is remembered and honored.
“Identifying all these old grave markers is really important. They can get lost over time as family members pass away and there’s nobody here to remember them. That’s what we’re here for,” he said.
Watch the full story above.
___

'First time this happened,' bystanders react to shooting Downtown
An officer involved shooting in Downtown Colorado Springs resulted in the death of the suspect and an ongoing investigation. Traffic was blocked off Monday afternoon into the evening on Pikes Peak Ave. between Nevada Ave. and Weber St.
____
Watch KOAA News5 on your time, anytime with our free streaming app available for your Roku, FireTV, AppleTV and Android TV. Just search KOAA News5, download and start watching.