From the playing of the volunteer JFRD Pipes & Drums, to the Navy Band Southeast’s horns ringing and Voices of Jacksonville’s singing, the Veterans Memorial Wall was filled with the sounds of salute during the city of Jacksonville’s yearly Memorial Day ceremony.
by The city says no new names were added this year, but the U.S. Department of Defense says close to one thousand military members have died each year over the last 10 years.
“We live a life of freedom, secured by the lives of your daughters and sons, husbands and wives, fathers and mothers,” said Mayor Donna Deegan, one of the local leaders who attended the ceremony.
The mayor was joined by military leaders of Naval Station Mayport and NAS Jax, city council members, leaders of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, Duval County Public Schools superintendent Dr. Christopher Bernier, and a handful of state lawmakers.
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All of them joined military families of those who’ve lost their loved ones, like Thomas Feuerborn, who just lost his father, an Army veteran drafted into the Vietnam War, last week.
“I can now honor my father who sacrificed when he was during a time that he didn’t want to go to war,” Feuerborn said.
The City of Jacksonville says there are more than 68,000 military members working in Duval County. Naval Station Mayport says there are more than 8,000 active-duty members and reserve working for the base, and NAS Jax says it has more than 4,500 active-duty military.
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