In this picture offered by the U.S. Air Force, a hangar stands at MacDill Air Force Base on Jan. 4, 2021, in Tampa, Fla. As many as 121 unmarked graves in a former Black cemetery have been found on the base, army officers confirmed.

Senior Airman Tiffany Emery/U.S. Air Force by way of AP

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Senior Airman Tiffany Emery/U.S. Air Force by way of AP

In this picture offered by the U.S. Air Force, a hangar stands at MacDill Air Force Base on Jan. 4, 2021, in Tampa, Fla. As many as 121 unmarked graves in a former Black cemetery have been found on the base, army officers confirmed.

Senior Airman Tiffany Emery/U.S. Air Force by way of AP

TAMPA, Fla. — The U.S. Air Force plans to broaden its seek for gravesites in a former Black cemetery at a base in Florida after discovering 121 potential websites already, a base official mentioned.

Lt. Laura Anderson informed information stations this week {that a} nonintrusive archaeological survey carried out over the previous two years at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa recognized 58 possible graves and 63 potential graves. The base additionally deployed search groups to go over the world with floor penetrating radar and cadaver canine.

It plans to take a look at an space to the north of the principle cemetery space this yr for any further proof of graves, Anderson mentioned.

“That’s essentially so we can make sure that we’re not forgetting anybody,” she informed WFTS-TV.

The Tampa Bay History Center notified MacDill officers concerning the potential Black cemetery in 2019, and the bottom hosted a memorial service in 2021, dedicating a memorial on web site to these buried there.

The headstones on the Port Tampa Cemetery had been eliminated throughout development of the bottom within the late Thirties, however the our bodies remained there, the Tampa Bay Times reported in 2021. The space should keep freed from vertical constructions for plane security, so it has not been developed.

Officials mentioned they are going to proceed to work with the neighborhood to find out greatest doc the location and to pay respect to the individuals buried there.

“We know obviously there was wrong done in the past, but we’re working together with our community members,” Anderson mentioned. “We want to make what was wrong right.”

Yvette Lewis, president of the NAACP Hillsborough County department, informed WFTS-TV base officers have gone “above and beyond” in resolving the considerations of neighborhood members. But she wish to see further efforts to memorialize the location and ensure its story is informed appropriately.