CATONSVILLE, Md. — On September 11, 2001, Sara Marlow was was a high school student in Brooklyn, New York.
"I remember walking home from high school, and the ashes were falling down from the sky," Marlow recalled.
Marlow enlisted in the military after high school, and is now the director at Baltimore National Cemetery in Catonsville. On the 24th anniversary of September 11, dozens of volunteers gathered at the cemetery Thursday morning to honor service members and first responders by cleaning and aligning headstones.
Watch as volunteers and members of the WMAR team clean headstones in honor of 9/11
"For all my battle buddies that didn't come home," Marlow added, "for all my friends, my brothers and sisters in arms that didn't come home, that's why I'm out here today. Because I don't want to forget, I don't want my children to forget. I don't want anybody to forget."
Volunteers took a silent moment to reflect and remember where they were on 9/11. Andrew Cohen was across from the Pentagon that day.
"My children weren't around for it, but I want to make sure they remember. And I felt really compelled to do my part and support the effort," Cohen told WMAR-2 News.
John Collins traveled from Derwood with his family and business to participate, "to give back to the veterans here who are laid to rest, and make sure the cemetery is in as good as possible condition for them."
The Baltimore volunteer opportunity was part of a nationwide effort coordinated by the nonprofit organization Carry the Load, which holds similar ceremonies on Memorial Day and Veterans Day to honor military personnel and first responders.
Carry the Load partnered with the Department of Veterans Affairs’ National Cemetery Administration, holding volunteer events at about 70 cemeteries nationwide.
READ MORE: Cleaning Headstones: Volunteers to honor 9/11 heroes with National Day of Service
"There's so many people buried here, or buried because they fought in a war after [the attacks]," Marlow pointed out.
The volunteers spent their morning beautifying several rows of headstones; a way to pay tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
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