Volunteers recognize fallen heroes

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- Today, the Honor Project is placing flags and placards at headstones at Fort Bliss cemetery, in order to honor our fallen heroes."

"Oh, as soon as i saw all the people here, it was great, i loved it!," said Gabriel Jimenez.

It all started at 9 am this morning with volunteers like Habriel.

"You you walk into what you think's an empty cemetery and boom, all these volunteers come out of everywhere," said Gabriel.

Gabriel Jimenez is a retired Sergeant Major who's been out of the military since 2014. This is his 4th year volunteering with the Travis Manion Foundation.

"Binging together of the community in a lot of ways. Boy scouts, the young, the old, everybody that has that patriotic sense or that sense of community. It's perfect," said Gabriel.

The Honor Project gives families of fallen service members the opportunity to request a personal visit to their hero' resting place. Throughout Memorial Day Weekend, volunteers across the country fulfill those requests, placing hand-crafted tokens at each grave site as they pause to reflect and honor our heroes. 

"If they have somebody and, you know, they wish they could go visit them and they can, this is a way for them to make sure their hero was honored. and it's an honor for us to be able to do that," said Travis Manion Foundation El Paso Chapter Leader, David Gerhardt.

This event is one of more than 75 nationwide, bringing together 3,000 volunteers to honor 10,000 fallen heroes.

"It gives me hope that this country is doing that much better. in light of all the things that are going on in this world," said Gabriel.

This Memorial Day Weekend, the Honor Project carries with it the phrase "If not me, then who?" as we remember our veterans.