Military history brought to life. That's the mission for the Marlboro Volunteers, a group that started quite simply back in 1992 by filling a spot in a parade.

"We just started as a color guard in that parade and we would fire a gun salute down at the cemetery," said founder Tom Liverett. "There were four of us to start with. The next year we had eight. The next year we had 16."

As the group added new members, they saw an opportunity to really make a difference; a chance to share stories and teach some of the history that doesn't pop up in a textbook.

"Especially the younger group, all they know is more modern history because I don't think they focus a lot on the past," said Martin Mines from Warren. "Here we have the past. You go through the camps. They have the Red Cross from back in World War I & II."

"They go places where others don't want to go. They do what others don't want to do and they have to live with what happened," said Liverett. "But we as a nation have to remember what they did; what they did and what they gave up."

For more than 20 years they've been offering what they call "a ride through history," loading up trucks and taking people through different eras one at a time.

"It's a living history type of a program in that we try to keep it living, we try to keep it up to date. We honor those that have gone before us and what they did," said Liverett.

"Anywhere from the Revolutionary War on up through the modern times you can see how the uniforms have changed, the equipment's changed," said Mines. 

"In the modern era our equipment is lighter, we're better trained, we have a lot more experience," said Jonathan Persing from Youngstown, who was part of the modern warfare portion of the Ride Through History. "Some of these guys that have done this through history, these Vietnam vets they were very little experience, a conscript army; where all of us were volunteers."

Now they're all volunteering on a different level, taking personal experience and a heavy dose of the past and making sure these chapters in U.S. history are never forgotten.

The Marlboro Volunteers appear at various parades and school functions throughout the year, along with the once-a-year Ride Through History. You can learn more on the Marlboro Volunteers website.