Originally published in the  Pottstown Mercury.

VALLEY — In observance of Memorial Day, more than 100 community members recognized the sacrifice of roughly 50 African-American veterans buried at Old Evergreen Cemetery. Also, in East Brandywine Township, the Unknown Soldier was recognized.

To mark the solemn holiday, the Chester County commissioners, family and others who were thankful, placed American flags on the graves at Old Evergreen Cemetery of those who fought for their country during several wars.

The cemetery recently received a major sprucing up after it was mostly neglected for decades. On Wednesday, May 26, the area was cleared of brush and the grass had been neatly trimmed as part of a lasting tribute to those who fought for America.

When segregation was still prominent in the U.S., solely African-Americans, many of whom belonged to the local Hayti community, were interred. The graveyard filled to capacity in the 1960s prior to the founding of the adjacent New Evergreen Cemetery extension.

Ownership has remained ambiguous over the decades, and the spot was abandoned and unattended, except by a single family who has decedents buried there. Local volunteers have cared for the burial ground over the past several years. The event showcased the recent hard and lasting work of many volunteers.

Veteran and Chester County Recorder of Deeds Chris Pielli spearheaded the drive to restore the cemetery.

Pielli spoke on a balmy spring day as rain threatened.

“Behind me is a cemetery that contains the remains of fellow Americans who were segregated against and marginalized,” Pielli said. “They now rest in a place that has all but been forgotten but for the efforts of a few citizens who refused to let their memory fade.

“They served a country they loved, a country that didn’t always love them back. And yet, despite the wrongs they faced, those that lie here never gave up on America.”

Veteran and U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-6th Dist., of Easttown, talked about her father who like those placing flags on the graves Wednesday planted flags in the family’s driveway to mark the holiday.

“Remember those who came before us and remember their sacrifices,” Houlahan said. “We are all patriots … we are all Americans.”

Commissioner Michelle Kichline discussed the deep historical roots of the graveyard.

Commissioner Marian Moskowitz noted that veterans from several wars are buried at Evergreen Cemetery.

“The courage displayed by these men played a very important part it the Civil War — they truly fought for freedom,” she said.

State Rep. Dan Williams, D-74th Dist., of Sadsbury, said that the gravestones marked veterans who “fought for freedom that they did not themselves enjoy.”

Both Patrice Proctor, chairperson of the Valley Township Board of Supervisors and volunteer caretaker Teresa Graham said that relatives were buried in the cemetery.

Graham worked to restore the sacred property.

“I felt the spirit of my grandfather,” she said. “You can’t leave it like this, you have to make it work.

“I have to honor them for that sacrifice they made.”

The Laying of the Wreath was performed by Prothonotary Debbie Bookman and Graham. Chaplain Bob McGonigle of V.F.W. Post 287 performed Taps, and the National Anthem was presented by Kimberly Bydlon.

Presentation of the Colors was done by the Coatesville Area High School Air Force JROTC PA-771 Cadets, with Lt. Col. James E. Turnbull and MSGT Christopher J. Sidoli.

A memorial was laid this week at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and Never Forget Garden at Bondsville Park in East Brandywine Township.

A Never Forget Garden is a memorial not only to unknown soldiers, it’s also a living tribute to all American military service veterans and their families. It’s a place to honor their sacrifice and service to defend and preserve America in the past, the present, and for future generations.

The East Brandywine remembrance is the first, and so far the only, Never Forget Garden in Chester County. Living there in the beautiful Never Forget Garden are purple viola, tulip, daisy, primrose, poppy, and forget me not flowers, all of them having symbolic meaning. Oak and silver birch trees, symbols of strength and hope, grow nearby.

On Memorial Day in 1958, at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery, President Dwight D. Eisenhower officiated at the interment of Unknown Soldiers from World War II and the Korean War.

This year, 2021, is the 100th anniversary of the interment on November 11, 1921, of the Unknown Soldier of World War I, officiated by President Warren G. Harding. Among many Centennial memorial activities and recognitions being planned by the Department of Defense and Arlington National Cemetery, and the Society of The Honor Guard, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, one is a Never Forget Garden encouraged by the Society.