ON THE HILL: Local woman honors fallen service members for loved ones who are not able to

ON THE HILL: The Honor Project

Emily Domenech joins the show to talk about "The Honor Project," which helps families of fallen service members who cannot personally attend their loved ones grave sites.

FOX 5's On The Hill program hosted a special guest this Memorial Day Weekend, who is doing extraordinary work to honor America's fallen service members.

Emily Domenech started The Honor Project in 2020 to help those who cannot visit their loved ones at military cemeteries by taking pictures of them and sharing their stories.

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FOX 5's Tom Fitzgerald first asked Domenech how the project got started.

"We started The Honor Project in 2020 during the pandemic, when only family members were allowed in Arlington Cemetery. I sent out a Tweet and offered to visit graves on behalf of service members who couldn't come in and visit, sort of, their fallen fellow service members. And it went crazy," Domenech tells FOX 5.

She said the project went viral almost instantly and led to loved ones of service members sending in requests from all over the country.

"It's nice to go viral in D.C. for a good thing, and I am so grateful for the opportunity. I visited dozens of graves in Arlington the first year. And then we've been, I've been really fortunate to partner with the Travis Manion Foundation to expand this project, not just in Arlington Cemetery where we visited almost 5,000 graves over the past week, but also in cemeteries around the country."

Domenech tells FOX 5 that the project, which is currently expanding across the country, is made possible thanks to a network of volunteers.

"The magical thing about the Travis Manion Foundation is they have an incredible network of volunteers all around the country, they're gold star families, they're veterans, and we have had no lack of volunteers, both for Arlington Cemetery and the six sites around the country where we've expanded to. We had over 200 volunteers in Arlington Cemetery last weekend, and we'll have volunteers there again, and hundreds of volunteers all around the country. So we're really able to reach a much broader network of folks," said Domenech. "My hope for this project is that we will expand around the country and, maybe around to military cemeteries overseas, so that everyone has the opportunity to see their loved ones honored."

Domenech also spoke about the response the project is receiving across the country, saying it has been "incredible."

"What I've heard from folks all over the country is, you know, it's really hard to travel. You can't come to Arlington every Memorial Day, you can't visit your loved one, but knowing that someone was there and could honor them and share their name and share their story, is incredibly moving. It's been incredible for me to be a part of it," Domenech tells FOX 5.

You can learn more about The Honor Project here, and watch the full interview with Emily Domenech above.

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