MIRAMAR NATIONAL CEMETERY (KGTV) — About 500 volunteers gathered at Miramar National Cemetery on Saturday to clean tombstones and honor veterans, fallen service members, and those lost in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The event was organized by Carry the Load, a national nonprofit. Volunteers scrubbed headstones and read the names of the fallen aloud as they worked.
Kent Geier was among those cleaning tombstones, pausing at each one to say the name engraved on it.
"You know, obviously you died twice, once when you, you pass away and once when the last person says your name out loud, so we're reading the names as we clean the tombstones and express our gratitude for their sacrifice."
Geier said he was in a break room in San Diego watching television when the attacks unfolded 25 years ago. Despite being far from New York City, he said the moment felt personal.
"It's just a really scary time. I remember just reaching out to family members and just trying to connect with those who was distant being on the East Coast versus San Diego but really hit close to home at the same time."
Miranda Aguirre also volunteered, though she was born eight years after the attacks.
"It's nice to like being able to like just do all of this, especially just because I wasn't alive when it happened but I'm still able to like help."
Alan Wood, Carry the Load's ambassador for San Diego, said the choice to hold the event on Sept. 12 carries special meaning.
"September 12, 2001, was the most important day because that's when America stood strongest. Uh, we, we lived through 9/11 and then woke up on September 12th and came together as a nation."
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