Raising buried headstones in the National Cemetary

Headstones of fallen soldiers are getting a lift.

The Vicksburg National Military Park and AmeriCorps are raising buried headstones at the National Cemetery.

“It's a constant battle with the geology here," Scott Babinowich says.

More than 700 headstones are sinking thanks to the fine sediment soil that makes up the Vicksburg National Cemetery.

"Whether it's erosion of the cemetery or erosion of the cliffs or roads, just the soil here is such a unique factor," he says.

Babinowich says restoring the headstones is a project that started about ten years ago, and it's finally taking the next step.

"It was a long process of going through records, old maps, and coming out here trying to identify their actual location," he says.

He says it's all about preserving history and remembering those who fought.

"In a sense by raising these headstones we're honoring the sacrifices of those veterans and some of those sacrificed their lives over 150 years ago," Babinowich says.

The history of the national park is what brought Ethan Lafont there. He's a history major.

"It's important to know where we came from," he says.

He says restoring the headstones is important, even if the majority belong to fallen Confederate soldiers.

"Especially in a time where the Civil War is kind of a taboo topic, they still fought and they're still part of America in my opinion and it’s still part of our history that I think we need to respect and understand," Lafont says.

Babinowich says paying that respect is the ultimate goal.

"We’re restoring them to their proper place among their fallen brothers and we're also allowing relatives, descendants, and even the visiting public to see and honor their graves as well," he says.

Digging is scheduled to begin on Monday, March 19.

The AmeriCorps group will be there for two weeks, but park officials say they expect the project to take a couple months.