Two sisters honor local soldiers who served in the Spanish-American War

Photographer: WXYZ

Copyright 2012 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Photographer: WXYZ

Copyright 2012 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.Posted: 05/24/2012

Last Updated: 1 hour and 15 minutes ago

BERKLEY, Mich. (WXYZ) - They spent four days on their hands and knees scrubbing the gravestones of soldiers who died almost a century ago. Sisters LaRue Zech and Joyce Cucchiara did it because they wanted to honor those who served.Before they took out the toothbrushes and scrub brushes some of the solider's names were almost impossible to read.LaRue noticed the filthy headstones during visits to see her daughter's grave site at the Roseland Cemetery in Berkley. The proactive duo brought their story to 7 Action News because they were hoping that by going public they could get more support - and generate donations to place flowers on the graves of each solider.Mission Accomplished. LaRue and Joyce say after their story aired last week people from across the country reached out to them."Just that we were able to do something for the soldiers. It's nothing like what they did for us, but it really touched my heart to see the flowers, flags and clean gravestones. I hope they're looking down from the heavens," LaRue said.---Two sisters find themselves the caretakers of dozens of soldiers’ graves from the Spanish-American War.LaRue Zech, who visits the Roseland Park Cemetery often to see her daughter’s grave, says she frequently drives by the section of the cemetery where the soldiers are buried and the scene has upset her – at least until now.Zech says the headstones were filthy, to the point where some of the names of the fallen could barely be seen.“We would look at the headstones and I would tell my husband – it’s sad that you can’t read their names. Year by year they got dirtier,” Zech said.Saddened by the neglect Zech decided to take action and she enlisted the help of her sister, Joyce Cucchiara.Together the two gathered supplies – scrub brushes, dish soap and even toothbrushes. They put on some jeans and went to work, scraping and scrubbing the headstones from top to bottom.It was a humbling experience, they told us, knowing each soldier has a story."For every gravestone that we sat in front of and scrubbed, the reality set in. There was a soldier there that for you and me and our country – they gave us their greatest gift of all, their lives,” Cucchiara said.Zech and Cucchiara want to take their tribute a step further, but they need help. They want to put red, white and blue carnations on each grave.“We just hope that everybody remembers them, that no one forgets what they did for us,” Cucchiara said.If you are interesting in helping with flowers or donations:Copyright 2012 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.Accounting/FinanceManagement & ExecAdmin/SecretarialManufacturingComputer/SoftwareRetailConstruction/Skilled TradeSales & Biz DevHealthcareTV/Film/MusiciansHospitality/RestaurantWork from HomeMore job categories...Entertainment NewsMore Oakland County NewsSunday afternoon, the Fournier family’s lives changed forever.The 41st St. Mary's Polish Country Fair is expected to bring more than 100,000 people to Orchard Lake.One man was killed and three others were shot during a shooting at a Southfield Hotel.