As a self-employed carpet cleaner, Andrew Lumish, of Land O' Lakes, Florida, gets only one day off a week. On most of those Sundays, he uses his cleaning skills to honor military veterans and their families anonymously, until now.
"The tombstones themselves are typically in poor condition," Lumish explained as he unloaded cleaning supplies from his work van at the Lutz Cemetery.
On this Sunday, Lumish has identified three grave markers so dirty that the inscription can barely be read.
"It's something that I feel I should do to give them the proper respect for fighting for our country. And they may not any family still living," said Lumish.
Lumish has done research to find products that will clean limestone, slate, marble and granite without damaging the stone. He's a history buff who researches the lost veterans who served in conflicts dating back to the Civil War.
"These aren't just stones sitting in a cemetery in Florida. These are real people; I think about their lives," said Lumish.
In the two and half years Lumish has been visiting cemeteries around the Florida Bay Area, he's never been chased away.
"I may be trespassing right, but it's a good kind of trespassing, and I'll take that all day," he said.
