(KENS) – A fifth grader in Texas is showing his appreciation for veterans buried in community cemeteries.
11-year-old Nicholas Pinkerton is from Spring Branch in the south central area of Texas
He learned that community cemeteries contain nearly 80% of the country’s veterans.
And they don’t get the same amount of care as national cemeteries.
The community cemeteries are often managed by nonprofits that rely mostly on donations to keep them operating.
So, he wanted to make a change and he enlisted his father for help.
Together, they have visited eight cemeteries and helped clean them.
They have placed bronze medallions on veterans’ graves and have worked to indicate which branch of service the veteran participated in during their time in the military.
“They risked their life to protect our country, and we can’t just leave their graves all messed up,” Pinkerton said.
Pinkerton and his dad started the nonprofit Warriors Remembrance Foundation.
And they hope to bring attention to veterans buried outside of national cemeteries, so the gravesites can get the care and attention Pinkerton says they deserve.
“We’re trying to get a law to where they can have perpetual care, and the veterans don’t have to rely on the families to do everything because the family… they might not even have a family and the family might move away, they might pass away so you know that’s how this stuff happens,” Pinkerton said.
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