Honoring Memorial Day at Gulfport Armed Forces Retirement Home

GULFPORT, Miss. (WXXV)- In honor of Memorial Day, the Armed Forces Retirement Home in Gulfport hosted a ceremony.

This event was part of the nationwide ‘Carry the Load’ movement, dedicated to honoring the sacrifices of military personnel, veterans, first responders, and their families.

A placing of a memorial wreath and the playing of Taps took place.

Participants also gathered together and reflected on the true meaning of Memorial Day.

The ceremony’s guest speaker was the senior enlisted advisor for the Marine Detachment at Keesler Air Force Base. Resident John Jensen said, “I used to take a sound system up to the cemetery so they could read the list of names off and people were so happy to hear their grandfather’s or their uncle’s name. The fact that they could remember things on Memorial Day meant a lot to them. I’m glad I went through all of that work to get it for them. I would say, if at all possible, go to a cemetery and just walk through it and see the graves that have flowers on them because some people don’t have anyone to remember them. If you go over there and say ‘thank you,’ it would mean a lot.”

In addition to this event, there will also be more Memorial Day events happening around the Coast on Monday.