A group of bikers who are also military veterans has declared war on the weeds overtaking a historic Mobile cemetery, mowing through waist-high grass to reach the graves of the service members buried there.
The effort, dubbed “Operation Overload,” has a simple mission: plant a flag at the gravesite of every veteran at Oaklawn Cemetery while drawing attention to what the group calls deplorable conditions at the burial ground. Finding those graves is itself a challenge — tall grass and weeds have swallowed many of the markers.
Members of the American Legion Post 199 Riders were out with mowers this week after recent rains left the grass especially high, posting photos of their progress as they worked.
According to the group, roughly 2,000 veterans from conflicts spanning the 20th century — World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam and the Gulf War — are buried at the cemetery.
Organizers are asking for volunteers to join the effort, particularly people who may have loved ones buried at Oaklawn and can help locate family plots beneath the overgrowth.