By: Jacob Loeffler

The Veterans at the University of Oregon are always trying to help out the community and the school.  A group of veterans from the school helped out some of the workers at the cemetery clean up the grounds after a brutal winter left it in near ruins.

At the Eugene Pioneer Cemetery located on the University of Oregon campus, there are 60 known Civil War veterans buried.  Over the years, Eugene citizens and UO student groups have volunteered to maintain the condition of the cemetery.

Ryan Olson, an army veteran, spends his Saturday morning working alongside the Lions Club to clean up the remains of the winter storm.  Along with being the president of the University of Oregon’s Veterans and Family Student Association, Olson is pursuing a degree in Cinema Studies and plans to be a filmmaker and start his own business.

Olson (left) gathers debris and fallen branches and piles them onto a tractor.  The VFSA regularly volunteers to help out the communities of Eugene and the University of Oregon.

Although Olson and the rest of the VFSA do not know these veterans personally, the presence of a familial bond passed down through generations was clearly shown when the Veterans Association arrives to clean up the cemetery.

Olson (left) asks one of the head volunteers where the extra wheelbarrows are because there is so much debris that the tractor is not able to handle it all.  Now if you walk by the graveyard, it looks pristine, and clear of debris, thanks to the Veterans and Family Student Association and other volunteers.