JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The City of Jacksonville's Military Affairs and Veteran Department hosted its annual Memorial Day observance on Monday at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Wall to honor local fallen military heroes.
The Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Wall located on East Adams Street lists the names of local service members who died on duty since World War I. It serves as a tribute to 1,700 fallen heroes, some as young as 18 years old.
"The names are listed by high school, anybody that's gone to a high school here can look at their high school and say 'those are kids my age that went off to Vietnam, that went off to World War II for our freedom,'" said the city's Military Affairs and Veterans Director Harrison Conyers.
Veterans, service members, government leaders, loved ones and other community members gathered at the observance ceremony Monday morning.
The ceremony is the largest in the Southeast and the second-largest in the nation, according to Conyers.
Conyers has been participating in the ceremony for at least 20 years, adding it's his way of honoring his father who was a paratrooper during World War II.
"Jacksonville, 150,000 veterans, 50,000 active duty and defense contractors in the city, it's the fabric of the city," he said.
Monday's ceremony included a music performance by the Navy Band Southeast and The Voices of Jacksonville, along with keynote speakers, including Mayor Donna Deegan and retired Vice Admiral Mary Jackson, who served the Navy for 32 years.
"To the families of the fallen, to the veterans and to those of you serving today, we are in your debt," said Deegan. "As a city, we will keep striving to honor your commitment to us by helping to heal the wounds both visible and not."
During remarks from Jackson, she acknowledged the USS Carney, which returned safely to Naval Station Mayport after a seven-month deployment in the Red Sea just last week.
"Carney's deployment was historic, seven months long, with enemy engagements the first day she entered into the fifth fleet, intercepting land attack cruise missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles launched by Houthi forces," Jackson said.
She added that Carney came home with no casualties of war.
No new names have been added to the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Wall this year. It is the only memorial wall that honors veterans from all seven military branches.