They walked along the rows and rows of bricks, looking for ones with familiar names.

When they found them, they scooped them up in plastic bags and set them aside. Soon those bricks with their loved ones'

names will be memorialized forever as part of Patriots Path

at Woodland Cemetery.

The Veterans Memorial Committee had a brick party at the cemetery Saturday, giving families that purchased memorial bricks a chance to see and group them. Each brick honors someone who served in the military at some point in our nation's history. The bricks will be installed together as a family unit when the latest edition to the memorial is completed.

"I've found the bricks for my dad, my brother, my grandfather and my step-father," Trish Shaffer of South Point said. "I'm still looking for one for my brother-in-law."

Shaffer said she just wanted her family member's names added to this piece of local history.

"I think it's cool to be a part of this," she said

Sara Carman of South Point was looking for 13 bricks. Two are in honor of her brothers, six more are in honor of her husband's brothers. The other bricks are for their brothers-in-law, all of whom have served their country.

"It makes me feel honored to be a part of this," Carman said. "They gave their all, a lot of them did. Those that were lucky enough to come home, they gave to their country, too."

Mary Ellen Bryant and her cousin Janet Grimm, both of Ironton, had a couple sacks of bricks to group together. Some bricks memorialize family members who fought in the Civil War. Two were for great aunts, Doris Lambert Kelly and Carol Kelly Kingery. They were both nurse cadets in the U.S. Army during World War II.

"We just wanted to remember them," Bryant said.

Betty Kelly of Ironton took slow steps through the rows of bricks, looking for one inscribed with the name of Charles Jackson. That was her brother-in-law, who served in both the U.S. Army during the Korean Conflict, and in the National Guard.

"I did this for my sister, Peggy Jackson. She passed away in October of 1997, and I knew she'd want this done," Kelly said.

Kelly's niece, Christie Schweikart, is Jackson's daughter. Together they found that brick and one for Schweikart's husband, Michael Taylor, who served in Operation Desert Storm.

Connie and Hobert Lake grouped together a pile of bricks for friends and family members. Two of the bricks bore the names of Connie's two brothers, Gary Wilson, who served in the Army, stationed in Okinawa, and Paul Wilson, an Army Purple Heart recipient who served in Vietnam.

Paul Wilson passed away in February.

"I think this is very special," Connie Lake said. "I'm very proud of them. I remember when my brothers went to service. I was a teen-ager then. It was devastating. It's hard to describe. It's very emotional. I always try to come here when they have the Woodland Cemetery service during Memorial Day weekend."

Veterans Memorial Committee member Jim Adkins said that if the weather cooperates, site preparation for the new addition may begin as early as Monday. And volunteers may begin installing bricks as early as Thursday.

Adkins said he is pleased with the community response to the memorial brick project.

"It shows me we still have patriots in this country and that the G.I. is not forgotten," he said.