LOUISVILLE, Ky. — This Veterans Day, one Louisville cemetery recognized more than a dozen Black service members who were buried in unmarked graves more than a century ago, with a goal of eventually locating their exact burial sites and setting proper headstones.
In the far right corner of St. Louis Catholic Cemetery in Louisville sits an acre of land unlike the rest. It's framed with large trees and a stone wall marking the cemetery's edge.
The plot of land looks empty, but in reality, it's the resting place of more than 1,600 Black men and women who were not given headstones.
“Between 1867 and 1937, at least 1,634 Black Catholics were buried here and in another section over this hill,” said Ned Berghausen, deacon at St. Agnes Catholic Community.
Since its discovery just a few years ago, a team of volunteers has identified 16 Black veterans buried on the plot of land. Their service dates range from the Civil War to World War I. The men were honored Monday for the first time.
What also began on Veterans Day was the tedious task of locating the 1,600-plus unmarked graves.
“Here’s a burial right there,” said Len Strozier as he walked up and down the grassy hill with no gravestones.
Strozier is from Georgia and owns Omega Mapping Services. He used ground-penetrating radar to identify where burials are.
“The radio waves tell me that something's in the ground,” he said.
Strozier never served in the armed forces but said he's always had great respect for those who have and enjoys getting to help honor them through his work.
“It’s kind of like Christmas morning for me doing this and also doing it in such a way that brings honor and respect to the people that are buried here,” Strozier said.
The Georgia native has been in this line of work for 18 years and said he has identified graves at hundreds of cemeteries.
Whenever he finds one, he places an orange flag in the ground. The Louisville cemetery's far corner will soon be filled with them.
“This cemetery is but one of hundreds or thousands of cemeteries in our country where Black Americans lie without markers," Berghausen said. "Among them are many more veterans waiting to be remembered and recognized."