TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – If you were asked, “Why do we have Memorial Day,” would you know the answer?
A survey, with 2,000 Americans last year, showed just 48% answered correctly.
That percentage dropped even further when the question was posed to Millennials and Gen Z-ers.
Those stats didn’t sit well with a group of Tallahassee women. So this year, they’re making it their mission to educate people about the meaning behind Memorial Day.
Lance Corporal Daniel Chaires was killed in action in Iraq on October 25, 2006.
“He just wanted to experience a little bit more life before he settled down,” Daniel’s mother, Nan Cutchens said.
Private Jaivion Hawkins died in Anchorage, Alaska on November 25, 2023.
“He just decided that was something he wanted to do, to be out there to protect his country,” Jaivion’s grandmother, Belinda Washington, said.
Master Sergeant Shawn Elliot Simmons was killed in action on May 28, 2008.
“His men said he was a good soldier. A good team lead,” Shawn’s mother, Alberta Jones-Simmons said.
They were sons, brothers, husbands and fathers and died while serving our country.
Although these men didn’t know each other, their deaths now connect these mothers and grandmother as Gold Star families.
It’s a group, they and thousands of other American families wish they didn’t know about first-hand.
“You grieve this person that you miss terribly and it’s such a sudden death. But you realize that it was his choice so you have to honor his choice,” Cuchens said.
Nan Cuchens, Belinda Washington and Alberta Jones-Simmons are just a few of the many Gold Star families in our area.
“When I first joined a year ago, it made me feel so welcome and it’s like someone finally understands. And I know they were there to support me and just give me the listening ear that I needed,” Washington said.
While talking about their children and grandchildren isn’t always easy, they said it’s incredibly important.
“There are those who say we have to tell their story and we keep them with us. We keep them alive and so we do. We tell their story,” Cuchens said.
But with less than one half of one percent of Americans actively serving in the U.S. military, these women said they worry younger generations are losing that connection to our nation’s service members and what it means to serve our country.
“Memorial Day is a special day to recognize only those who gave their ultimate life for this country while they were performing their military duties. And so for us, it’s not a special day, but it is a special day. You don’t really want to celebrate it, but you honor your loved one,” Jones-Simmons said.
So that’s what these ladies are asking you to do this Memorial Day. While barbecuing or hitting the beach, stop and look around you.
“Recognize that your freedom isn’t free. There’s a price that had to be paid for that and sometimes that price is the ultimate price which is your life. Or, somebody else’s life. Or in my case, or in our cases our children or grandchildren,” Jones-Simmons said.
If you’re a Gold Star family member in the Big Bend and haven’t connected with a local group, you can find help through the U.S. Army’s Survivor Outreach Services. They can connect you with any branch of the military.
Lena Lewis is the Support Coordinator for the Big Bend. You can contact her at 850-459-6630. Or, email her at lena.d.lewis2.ctr@army.mil.
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