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WASHINGTON — Tim Price said hauling fertilizer
up the hills of Arlington National Cemetery on a
humid 90-degree morning isn’t such a bad way to
spend a day off from work.
“When we were in Iraq (in 2005), one day off we
took a photo of the thermometer that said 154
degrees,” said Price, a 19-year National
Guardsman from Tennessee. “And we ended up
having to go out anyway that day for a security
detail. So, this is OK.”
Price, who traveled more than 800 miles for the
privilege of spreading lime and grass seed in
the cemetery, was one of more than 250
volunteers taking part Monday in the
Professional Landcare Network’s annual
landscaping of the memorial park.
Understanding Memorial Benefits
Lawn care workers, including a handful of
veterans like Price, and their families spent a
half-day trimming fields, pruning trees and
tending to the gravesites in an effort to thank
the military and troops who have sacrificed
their lives.
“I look at it as a great way to honor them,”
said Matt Cannon, a recently separated Marine
reservist who deployed to Iraq with the 4th
Combat Engineer Battalion in 2003. |
