CORPUS CHRISTI, Tx — An Eagle Scout's Memorial Day project is helping families connect with veterans buried at Rose Hill Memorial Park — using a digital database he built to locate more than 1,000 graves.
Caleb Karnetsky, the teenager behind the project, said the day he had been working toward had finally arrived.
"It's finally Memorial Day so people are finally going to be able to come out and start experiencing it," Karnetsky said.
Rows of flags, flowers, and families filled Rose Hill Memorial Park on Memorial Day. Among those paying their respects was Navy veteran Joseph Padilla, whose family's military history runs deep.
"My family's military service goes all the way back to the American Revolution," Padilla said.
Karnetsky walked me through the app, showing how the database works with just a few clicks.
"Type up the name. In this case it'll be Perkins," Karnetsky said.
The database produces a map, a photo of the headstone, and the location of the veteran's grave. Padilla used it to find members of his own family.
"Right here is my grandfather, Arthur Wharton. And right here is my grandmother, Mary Wharton," Padilla said.
Padilla said he appreciates the work Karnetsky and his fellow scouts put into the project.
"I find it very refreshing to see the younger generation trying to preserve and promote the history of the past," Padilla said.
For Karnetsky, the project is personal. His great-great-grandfather, Thomas Curtis Perkins, served in World War I and is also buried at Rose Hill. I drove with Karnetsky's family to visit his grave.
"People being able to use this, that's what I have a lot of excitement for," Karnetsky said.
One detail that stood out: the map's turn-by-turn precision. It displayed a prompt reading, "On your left: is Thomas Curtis Perkins."
For Karnetsky, it is more than just a name on a screen — it is a connection to an ancestor who served his country generations ago.
Not every record is available yet.
"With over a thousand it's too much for the system to handle," Karnetsky said.
Karnetsky said he is hopeful the remaining records will be available soon, as he continues his mission to make sure the veterans buried at Rose Hill are never forgotten.
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