Black History Born a Slave Forgotten a Soldier Joseph Williams enlisted in the 1st South Carolina Volunteers at Beaufort, SC, the first black men organized as a regiment to fight for freedom in the Civil War 9 May 1862. Trae Zipperer Founder of the veteran headstone cleaning movement By Memorial Day discovered the incredible of Joseph Williams’ fight for freedom included Harriet Tubman, Clara Barton, Susie King Taylor, Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment, the movie GLORY, Colonel Thomas Wentworth Higginson, the book Army Life in a Black Regiment, abolitionist John Brown, John Brown backers the Secret Six, Fort Wagner, Fort Gregg, Abraham Lincoln, the Emancipation Proclamation, Fort Pulaski, and Major General David Hunter.

Trae Zipperer, Founder of By Memorial Day, Honor Your DNA, and VeteranGraves.com found the veteran headstone of Joseph Williams leaning and covered with biological filth while scouting Laurel Grove Cemetery South in Savannah, GA. 1st South Carolina Volunteers was later accepted into the Union Army as the 33rd United States Colored Infantry. The icon white marble veteran headstone was so dirty the bas relief letters were difficult to determine without touching their shapes. In the center, the letters C O D for “Company D” stood out to Trae as GOD.

Trae Zipperer used cleaning agent D/2 Biological Solution, a Magnolia Brush Company Model 179-T natural Tampico bristle brush made from the fibers of the agave plant, wooden paint stir sticks, tooth brushes, and water to remove decades of accumulated biological growth, dirt, grime, and filth to honor a man worthy of such care. To learn everything you need to know about how to properly clean a veteran headstone, visit ByMemorialDay.com.

Register as a Volunteer at VeteranGraves.com where patriotic people will work together to document every veteran’s story in fine military detail.