Over 100 attendees gathered at the Historic Evergreen Cemetery on Monday morning to honor veterans and military service members who died serving the nation.
Todd Chase, a Navy veteran, was the event’s honored guest speaker. He said over a million military service members have lost their lives in the line of duty.
“They are ordinary people, who by virtue of their service and sacrifice, are extraordinary,” Chase said.
Part of the ceremony included the tolling of a bell in honor of the fallen, once for each name of a man or woman who died in service within the last year.
According to the Defense Casualty Analysis System, 844 people died in 2022 while serving military duty. Over 200 were accidents and 333 were self-inflicted deaths. Numbers for 2023 are not yet available.
Chase told the stories of two Navy pilots he knew, both of whom died in their 20s during training accidents.
“While this day is typically spent recalling the valor of those who died in combat, these two stories I share with you are from people who have died… in a different situation,” Chase said. “Their lives mean the same as all of them.”
Gainesville Mayor Harvey Ward and Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Commander Chester Lundy also recognized several local “Gold Star” families, those who are close relatives of fallen service members.
Several families were present to receive the recognition, while others were not, but the names of each service member was read aloud.
“These families and all those left behind represent the cost of freedom,” Ward said.
Members of the Milton Lewis Young Marines, including Young Marine Gunnery Sgt. Janquil Hunt, Young Marine Gunnery Sgt. Zach Nanke and Young Marine Master Sgt. Timothy Hawkins, performed the presentation of colors and flag ceremony for the event.
The crowd clustered under and around a few tents on the sunny morning included Gainesville Commissioners Casey Willits, Ed Book and Bryan Eastman, and Alachua County Sheriff Emery Gainey.
Alachua County Commissioner Marihelen Wheeler spoke at the beginning of the ceremony, telling how she grew up in a military community 15 miles from Fort Campbell. She said her grandparents were veterans of World War II and the Korean War.
“We had wonderful stories from those people who served,” Wheeler said. “Many of the stories didn’t get home… but the families who came who came today, the families who are out in our whole country, remembering those people that were lost, their family members that were lost, carry those stories so that we don’t forget.”
127 names of Alachua County residents who died between Memorial Day 2023 and this Memorial Day were read at the ceremony. The final attendance count was 369 people. Veterans, thank you for your service.