North Carolina Veteran Headstones Neglected Relics

North Carolina veteran headstones covered in disgraceful neglect remind us of America's storied history from the Revolutionary War to the Civil War to Vietnam. Trae Zipperer on a mission to clean every veteran headstone in America by Memorial Day visits historic Philadelphia Presbyterian Church in Mint Hill, NC in the Greater Charlotte area. Founded in 1770 by Trae's ancestors, these hallowed grounds hold the sacred remains of American military warriors from all United States wars. Despite the valor, patriotism, and sacrifice of these valiant dead, the people of America, North Carolina, and Charlotte have forgotten them as clearly evident by the filth allowed to accumulate on white marble monuments provided by tax payers of a once grateful nation.

Trae walks the grounds of three adjoining cemeteries traveling back in time to wars fought by American heroes including Vietnam, Korea, World War II, World War I, Spanish American, Civil War, 1812, and the Revolution.

At the grave of 42-year-old Civil War Confederate Soldier Josiah F. McCall, mortally wounded in the trenches of Petersburg, VA, Trae shares his experiences of learning the history of the United States through names, words, and dates etched in marble shrouded in biological growth. Learn insights into what caused the Civil War, why the Battle of Kings Mountain was the turning point of the American Revolution, and what a National Battlefield Park Ranger had to say about Custer's Last Stand.

Veteran headstones in private and municipal cemeteries all across America in every state and every town stand as reminders of the cost of freedom. The black algae, lichens, dirt, filth, and grime long established upon these once honored stones, marking once sacred ground, serve as a canary in the coal mine showing just how far away we as unappreciative people have distanced ourselves from the Greatest Generation.