Austin Duran’s family regularly gathers around his grave site in the Highland Memory Gardens to reflect upon the young firefighter’s life and their loss.
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Duran died in July 2022 after a trailer full of sand crushed him while he was on shift. He spent 15 days in the hospital fighting for his life before he succumbed to his injuries.
His grave is one of the most visited in the cemetery and is decorated with flags and insignia marking him as a firefighter.
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Surrounding him, however, are thousands of veteran and first responder graves that don’t get the same kind of attention.
More importantly, most of the sites aren’t known to national organizations that honor veterans on holidays.
“You want organizations like Wreaths Across America to come out and honor the veterans and first responders unless somebody purchases something individually, there’s no way to have a record of it,” Sierra Duran, Austin’s sister, said.
The Duran family and their nonprofit, The 2650 Foundation , plan to do something about it.
On the morning of Sunday, July 14, they’ll be walking the grounds of the cemetery and recording each veteran and first responder’s name and location.
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The database they compile will be available to organizations like Wreaths Across America and the Scouts. The cemetery estimates there are more than 3,800 sites on its property alone.
The Durans say more than 50 people have registered already, and they’re hoping to get at least 50 more.
“It’s important to us to know that at least Joe Brown got a visitor that day,” Michael Duran said. “Doing this event is something that we can do to kind of keep Austin’s memory and legacy alive.”
This event will wrap up 15 days of honoring firefighters in Austin’s memory with participating local businesses.
His sister, who originally had the idea, said she’s been looking forward to it since its inception and hopes this type of volunteer work catches on in other communities.
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“He would be surprised that I’d be walking this much,” she laughed. “He would love it. He loves honoring our first responders and military so this is right up his alley.”
The event will begin at 9 a.m. Anyone interested in attending can register here . Breakfast, water and lunch will be provided.
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