LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Ahead of Veterans Day, people nationwide are honoring those who served. In Lexington, service members buried at Cove Haven Cemetery were remembered Friday morning, some of whom didn't always get the recognition they deserved.
Cove Haven is one of the city's historic African-American cemeteries. It's the final resting place for over 500 veterans, including eight women.
That legacy of service brought the National Association for Black Veterans, or NABVETS, to the cemetery for Friday's ceremony.
"It's important we recognize the veterans who have gone on before us," said Rev. James Thurman. "They have uncovered graves that go all the way back to the Civil War, the Revolutionary War."
Previously known as Greenwood Cemetery, volunteers have worked to clean the cemetery up and document the extensive history of the heroes buried here.
"I've learned that just from studying the records of these veterans. Finding out what their jobs are," said burial manager Yvonne Giles. "Many of their headstones just say World War One veteran and give a regiment. But that didn't tell me what they were doing."
Other groups have placed American flags at the hundreds of veteran graves on site, including the headstones of four veterans whose grave sites were never found.
"A lot of us forget, and this is to remind you of the people who went on ahead of you," said Army Veteran and NABVETS member Darlene Varner.
