Visitors commemorate Memorial Day
Published 10:26 pm Monday, May 25, 2020
Joseph Barton, 7, visited his grandfather and great-grandfather’s graves.
Isabella Newell, 10, places a poster she made at the grave of her grandfather, Elmer Spires, a U.S. Navy Korean War veteran.
Nakia Binns visits the grave of her father, Ervin Clarke Sr., with her husband, Patrick, and children, Nysaiah, 14, and Nyasjya, 10.
Hanne Lore McDonald visited the grave of her son, Ray McDonald, accompanied by family friends, John and Alwine Crosby.
Joyce Page and her daughter, Temeka Jones, visited the grave of Page’s husband, Frenando Page.
Christine Conley, a U.S. Navy veteran, visits the graves of Jeremy Wise and Benjamin Wise. Jeremy was a SEAL and then returned as a military contractor; he was killed on the job in Afghanistan in 2009. His brother, Benjamin, was a Green Beret medic who died on active duty in Afghanistan in 2012. Conley shared a toast with the brothers, out of the same bottle used to toast another fallen comrade, Mike Hosey, in March when Conley along with other service members attended the dedication of American Legion Post 205 in Clay-Trussville, Ala. The post was named after Hosey.
Frank Eduardo and his son Fesan Eduardo, 13, play catch with a football while Frank’s, mom Mercedes Fransisco, visits the grave of her daughter, Xiomara Eduardo. She was a U.S. Marine who died on active duty in 2012.
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Families, friends and former comrades came out to Albert G. Horton Jr. Memorial Veterans Cemetery on Monday to commemorate Memorial Day.
Even though there was no official ceremony this year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, plenty of people visited while keeping their distance from other visitors.
Some, like Christine Conley, came out to dedicate a drink to fallen comrades she had served with. She said it was her honor to be the only person local enough to make the trip this year.
Others, like Frank and Fesan Eduardo, are regular visitors to the grave of Frank’s sister, Xiomara. They played a game of catch while listening to Xiomara’s favorite music.
Joseph Barton, 7, never met the men whose graves he visited on Monday. His grandfather and great-grandfather died before he was born.
Kimberlee Spires met up with her best friend and spent the afternoon teaching their children what Memorial Day was really about.
In the back rows of the cemetery, where no other people were, an older man walked slowly through the rows, stepping carefully with his cane and reading each name as he passed.
Each person that visited had a different story. Each visitor spent the time remembering a loved one or even just the strangers who gave their lives in sacrifice for their country.
Although there was no “Taps” played on the bugle, no speeches made, no parading of the flag, still people paid tribute to those who gave their lives.
