“Graveyard Shift” Cleans up Cemetery

Marietta’s American Legion Post 29 has a volunteer team known as the Graveyard Shift. It consists of veterans and family members who have been maintaining the Shiloh Cemetery in Cobb County. Whether mowing, cutting away overgrown bushes, or trimming weeds around the gravestones, the Graveyard Shift is dedicated to its community and the veterans who have served.

SM&P Client Relations Director Victoria Turney, a Marine veteran and Legionnaire, is one of the group. “There are many veterans buried there,” she said. “When you get a chance to support the final resting place of some fellow service members, you take on a deeper sense of history. You may not know their story but you are confident they had one.”

Melissa Powell, SM&P attorney, and her husband Tracy (an Army vet) joined the group recently. “While we enjoyed the camaraderie of the project,” she said, “we were most touched by the opportunity to honor the veterans interred here. We will be back.” 

“Post 29 has had the honor of preserving this site for years,” said Bill Beaudin, the Legion Graveyard Shift coordinator and also a board member of the Cobb County Cemetery Preservation Commission.

“Burial places are important reminders of a community’s history,” said Melissa. “They are public records of our roots. And their condition speaks to our pride of place. If we don’t value our past, why would we fight to ensure our future?” 

Legion Post 29’s veterans are committed to supporting their fellow veterans and recognizing their service. Remember our veterans and get involved.