By Robert Perea
Hundreds of veterans, families and community members gathered Monday at the Northern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery to honor fallen service members with a ceremony centered on remembrance, unity and the cost of freedom.
U.S. Senator Jackie Rosen, whose father was a veteran of the U.S. Army and served during the Korean War, told attendees the day is a time to reflect and to honor those who bravely serve and those who bravely gave their lives.
“Their service, a profound debt that we can never repay, and it's that service, it's that selflessness that has allowed us to remain free for 250 years, and we must stand to honor their memories,” she said.
She also emphasized the role of the families of those who serve.
“Behind every servicemember stands a family providing service in their own way, making their own sacrifices in service four our freedom,” Rosen said. “And when a servicemember loses their life serving our country, their family, they carry an unimaginable pain and a hole in their heart forever.”
Nevada Department of Veterans Services Deputy Director Rommel Ferrer, a 20-year U.S. Army and Marine Corps veteran, said Memorial Day is a time of unity to reflect on the cost of freedom.
“The sacrifice of those who gave their lives in service to our nation is the foundation of the freedoms we are privileged to enjoy every day,” Ferrer said.
Nevada Veterans Coalition President Rich Crombie, a Gold Star father himself, recognized the Gold Star families in attendance.
“Your sacrifice is one that we know that you will pay for dearly the rest of your lives, and we all here acknowledge and respect that,” he said. “We are beyond humbled to be in your presence today.”
Lt. Governor Stavros Anthony, the keynote speaker, said this year’s ceremony carried special significance as the nation approaches its 250th anniversary.
“For nearly two and a half centuries, generations of Americans have answered the call to serve through war, conflict, hardship and moments of national challenge,” he said. “Let us remember the legacy of our fallen heroes and express our gratitude for their service and sacrifice.”
Anthony said he is proud that Nevada is a military family.
“We have Nellis Air Force Base and Creech Air Force Base in southern Nevada, Navy Top Gun, not too far from here in Fallon, the Army Depot in Hawthorne and the Nevada Army National Guard,” he said.
He also recognized the Nevada Department of Veterans Services and the Southern Nevada and Northern Nevada Veterans Memorial cemeteries.
“As we leave today, may we carry forward both gratitude and purpose,” he said. “May we live in a way worthy of the sacrifices made on behalf of this nation. May we honor the fallen, not only in remembrance, but through service to one another, through unity and through our continued commitments to the ideals that we defended.”
As part of the ceremony, Nevada Veterans Coalition members Fred Hernandez and Mary Sedgwick placed a memorial wreath at the POW Monument.
“I didn’t have to call a moment of silence. We all knew what that means,” Crombie said. “That POW monument, the men and women who are still missing in action, prisoners of war are never forgotten.”
After the Nevada Veterans Coalition Honor Guard rifle team performed the traditional Volley of Three, a cannon was fired in honor of the nation’s 250th birthday to symbolize the ‘shot heard around the world,’ a phrase that was coined after the first shot was fired during the American Revolution during the Battles of Lexington and Concord.
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