For years, Myreanna Bebe felt guilty celebrating her birthday, which came just one day after her brother, 19-year-old Jason Benjamin Josaphat, was among the 49 killed in the Pulse nightclub attack on June 12, 2016.<\/p>\n
But as she spoke Friday at the remembrance ceremony marking the tragedy\u2019s 10th anniversary, she said she had grown to believe that the timing was no coincidence, and that her brother is still always with her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe my brother was reminding me of something. Every year, the day he left this Earth is followed by the day I entered it,\u201d she said at the event held at the First United Methodist Church in downtown Orlando. \u201cAlmost as if he was saying \u2018Keep going Myreanna\u2019\u2026that I still had a purpose and that I still had so much work to do. That I had a reason to still keep living.\u201d<\/p>\n
The ceremony was attended by survivors of the attack and families of the 49 \u201cangels,\u201d as the victims are known. A 49-second moment of silence was observed and the church\u2019s bells were tolled 49 times. Lights were dimmed as remembrance candles were passed out to all in attendance.<\/p>\n
![\"Myreanna](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/TOS-L-2026PulseRemembrance8901.jpg\")
Myreanna Bebe, sister of Pulse victim Jason Benjamin Josaphat, wipes away a tear during the 2026 Pulse Day of Remembrance Ceremony at the First United Methodist Church in Orlando on Friday, June 12, 2026. Friday is the 10th anniversary of the PULSE nightclub tragedy in which 49 people were killed. (Stephen M. Dowell\/Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n
A video was played of victims\u2019 relatives reading out their loved one\u2019s name as their photos were shown. One young boy read the name of his uncle, 21-year-old Cory James Connell, who he was named after. He said his uncle, who he never got the chance to meet,\u00a0is the person who inspires him the most.<\/p>\n
The ceremony was also attended by\u00a0local officials who played key roles in the region\u2019s response to the attack, including Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings and Orange County Sheriff John Mina, who was chief of the Orlando Police Department a decade ago.<\/p>\n
Dyer reflected on the community\u2019s struggle, and strength, during the past decade.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere have been challenges, there\u2019s been setbacks, there\u2019s been anger, and there\u2019s been disappointments,\u201d he said. \u201cBut what I can promise as we look ahead to the next decade and beyond is that our community will continue to offer love and hope to the families and survivors and all who are impacted by this tragedy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dyer said the city will continue to honor the 49 victims and reaffirmed his promise that the long-sought permanent memorial to the tragedy will be completed next fall, by the time he leaves office.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is who we are as a community. Time has passed, but we remain Orlando United,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
![\"Orlando](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/TOS-L-2026PulseRemembrance8912.jpg\")
Orlando City Commissioner Patty Sheehan, left, and Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer carry lit candles during the 2026 Pulse Day of Remembrance Ceremony at the First United Methodist Church in Orlando on Friday, June 12, 2026. Friday is the 10th anniversary of the PULSE nightclub tragedy in which 49 people were killed. (Stephen M. Dowell\/Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n
The ceremony also featured performances from the Orlando Gay Chorus and other singers. Orlando\u2019s poet laureate, Camara Gaither, recited a poem she composed for the event, speaking\u00a0about the victims and their enduring impact in the hearts of their loved ones and the community.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe still see them luminous, like the stars, feeling both near and far, enough to hold all of this grief and gratitude all at once,\u201d she said. \u201cShowing us how a person\u2019s presence can feel light years away and right next to us at the same time. They are forever embers in our orbit.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For years, Myreanna Bebe felt guilty celebrating her birthday, which came just one day after her brother, 19-year-old…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":305945,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[114,266,115,139,141,140,24706,109],"class_list":["post-305944","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-latest-headlines","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news","tag-pulse-nightclub-shooting","tag-social"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/305944","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=305944"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/305944\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/305945"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=305944"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=305944"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=305944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}