Titusville, Fla. – A small veterans cemetery in Titusville had been neglected or some time and not well maintained, until a group of citizens, a few of them veterans, stepped in to revive it by planting grass, small shrubs and plants.
The group, called Friends of the Cemetery, started restoring the cemetery 18 months ago as a community project. The group's president said the focus wasn't just to clean up the sacred place and make it beautiful for visitors, it was also to continue to honor those who served our country.
On Nov. 11, 1978 the first tombstone -- belonging to Walter H. Smith, a member of the U.S. Coast Guard -- was placed in the Brevard Veterans Cemetery in Titusville on South Deleon Avenue.
"Some of the weeds were taller than the veterans' graves. We have 32 cremated graves over here that the weeds were grown over the graves," said Sam DiBlasio, a Navy veteran who has been at the forefront of restoring the cemetery.
"We couldn't see these before, so they dug all this out, put plastic down ..." DiBlasio said pointing to a group of grave stones.
DiBlasio dedicated most of his time to beautifying the land where 127 veterans have been laid to rest.
"When I got the idea to do this with three buddies of mine and form Friends of the Cemetery, I was honored, I felt as if the Lord was telling me: 'You can do this. I will help you,'" DiBlasio said.
The group put in a paved walkway in and new American flags, along with six flagpoles featuring the flags from all the armed services. The graves were cleaned, sod was placed around the cemetery, planters were settled in and a naval gun from 1895 was donated to the cemetery.
"Somebody said to me, 'Unkept graves are a sin,' and I believe that. My dad was a World War II veteran from the Normandy invasion, he saw conflict and I'm hoping that I'm honoring him by doing this," DiBlasio said.
During the cleanup efforts, an unknown grave was discovered. Friends of the Cemetery found a plastic box about 6 inches under ground. They reburied it and placed a concrete marker over the grave.
"One day when we find out who it is, we're gonna put a bronze plate on there with that person's male or female name," Di Blasio said, adding that the group has used its own money to restore the cemetery.
The group does accept donations and DiBlasio said they need more funding to continue to beautify the veterans cemetery.
"I would say, if we could get about $5-$7,000, we'd be able to get all the sod we need," DiBlasio said.
Friends of the Cemetery recently had a marker made with the names of the two founders of the cemetery. This upcoming Veterans Day, a ceremony will take place to present the marker. The two daughters of both of the founders will be at the unveiling at 10 a.m.
To make a donation to Friends of the Cemetery contact Sam DiBlasio by email at diblasiosam@gmail.com.