Dozens of volunteers gathered at Richmond National Cemetery on Sept. 11 to clean headstones and pick up trash as a way to honor service members and first responders who lost their lives.

Danielle Applegate, of Alexandria, is an ambassador for Carry the Load, a group that organized the Patriot Day beautification project. Applegate is the daughter of a Marine Corps crew chief and a Navy corpsman. She herself served in the Army.

"Everybody wants to keep the memory alive, repeating your name and telling your story," Applegate said. "So, reflecting on the headstones, reading the names out loud, recognizing the dates of service, and just saying 'thank you.' It means something, it matters."

Carry the Load was founded by two Navy SEALs in 2011 with the hopes of connecting people to an active wa

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