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Sumter, Team Shaw honor fallen veterans

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Diana M. Cossaboom
  • 20th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. --  A Memorial Day ceremony was held at the Mabry Memorial in Sumter, South Carolina, May 25.

The Sumter County Veterans Association hosted the ceremony for local residents to honor those who have given their life in the line of duty.

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, was first observed in 1868 at Arlington National Cemetery; however the first state to officially recognize Memorial Day as a holiday was New York in 1873.

Lt. Col. Heather Perez, 20th Medical Group chief nurse, gave the keynote address stating the importance of remembering and honoring those who serve and those who gave their life serving.

"On this Memorial Day we take a moment to praise, pause, reflect, and remember the generations of (family) and friends who gave their freedom, making the ultimate sacrifice defending our national security, ensuring we remain the land of the free, the home of the brave, and defending the right for others to be free," said Perez.

Participating and assisting in the ceremony were the Lakewood High School, Crestwood High School, and Sumter High School Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps cadets.

"(The cadets) did a very good job today (and) are always volunteering," said retired Master Sgt. Duane Kyles, JROTC instructor at Lakewood High School. "They have a good feel of what it means to be serving the community and the nation at this age."

Some demonstrations the ceremony provided was the presentation of colors, a tribute to the prisoner of war and missing in action personnel, a memorial wreath laying ceremony, and a rifle salute.

Team Shaw and the community paid tribute to fallen family members and friends during the Memorial Day ceremony by honoring and showing their appreciation for their sacrifice.