Headstones and grave markers for 80 black military service members will move a step closer to their final resting places this weekend.

A group restoring Richmond’s historic Woodland Cemetery will create a memorial garden around the burial ground’s fountain honoring Black veterans Dec. 10, using headstones and markers found in a secluded pile on the property.

But they hope it’s only temporary.

“To bring the respect back to the veterans, we’re going to lay them out as opposed to just having them stacked up somewhere,” said Marvin Harris, a Richmond businessman who purchased the Northside property in 2020 and founded the Woodland Restoration Foundation. “Anyone visiting the cemetery, the family or whatever, will be able to view them now.”

Some of markers may have been intended for other Richmond cemeteries such as Evergreen, Barton Heights and East End, he said. They cover the World War I and II, and Korean and Vietnam War eras. The markers include bronze plaques about 18” x 24” in size and headstones as tall as three feet, according to Mr. Harris. The eventual goal is to place each headstone at its intended grave site.

Saturday’s event will begin with a short program at 9 a.m. followed by several hours of work by scores of volunteers, that will include creating the memorial garden and constructing a gravel walkway.

At a 3 p.m. ceremony, open to the public, the names of each veteran will be read aloud, with military honors and a 21-gun salute.

Among the 100-plus volunteers expected on Saturday will be Augustus D. Bryan, a 16-year-old James River High School pupil. He’s making this his Eagle Scout project for Midlothian Troop 1829.

Mr. Harris said that the youth, who most volunteers know as Augie, “came over to us and wanted to know if there was anything he could do to be of assistance. And we told him by all means.”

In a recent phone interview, Augie remembered thinking, “We’ve got to do something about this. These headstones were commissioned by the military for service members who died but were never officially placed or handled by the family responsible.” He wants the garden to be a “respectful and reverent memorial.”

“It is something that is really, really necessary,” Mr. Harris said, “and we and the leadership at Woodland Restoration Foundation ... really appreciate his help.”

Woodland Cemetery Restoration Foundation is raising funds to protect and restore the cemetery, which is the final resting place of tennis legend Arthur Ashe and thousands of other African-Americans from the Richmond community. The cemetery was founded in 1917 by Richmond businessman, newspaper editor, and civil rights activist John Mitchell Jr.