Ceremonies continue across Northwest Florida as communities honor fallen on Memorial Day

PENSACOLA, Fla. — On Monday we honor the fallen military members on this Memorial Day who died while serving our country. Several ceremonies took place across Northwest Florida.

The rain didn’t stop these Memorial Day services from continuing on and remembering those that were lost.

At the Barrancas National Cemetery at NAS Pensacola, families were in attendance to remember those that were laid to rest and placed flags on the graves.

“It’s absolutely not about the living and the active duty service members today, and thank you for your service as time goes on,” NAS Pensacola commanding officer Captain Chandra Newman said. “It’s for absolutely this moment at the Barrancas National Cemetery to honor the sacrifice of the service members and the families that are laid to rest here and take that time to not rest but reflect on the history of our nation and those that served and gave everything they had.”

In Okaloosa County, the Beal Memorial Cemetery ceremony was moved indoors to the American Legion.

Attendees placed small bouquets in the community wreath; there was a roll call for the deceased.

Colonel Blake Anderson was the guest speaker recognizing the Gold Star families.

“We stand today in the fellowship of this post; our hearts and minds remain with the more than 2,000 veterans laid to rest at the Beal Memorial Cemetery, and though the rain kept us from those hallowed grounds, we can all picture those pristine rows of markers,” Anderson said. “We know they are not just names etched in stone, but they represent the best of us.”

A large crowd also came indoors for the navarre park memorial day ceremony by the American Legion.

Local organizations placed wreaths along with salutes to the US battlefield cross.

Former Air Force Colonel Kris Cain eulogized soldiers that were lost from different wars throughout history.

She hopes that with each year, people can remember what this holiday weekend is all about.

“The people that died for our freedoms really paved the way for us,” Cain said. “We stand on their shoulders, so we need to keep doing this, and we need to keep saying their names.”

Memorial Day officially became a federal holiday back in 1971, honoring an estimated 1.3 million U.S. service members that have died in wartime.