Local members of the Patriot Guard Riders line the Memorial Day Service of Remembrance assembly area at Serenity Meadows Memorial Park in Riverview. They are part of a national nonprofit organization formed to honor fallen military heroes and support their families. Lois Kindle photos.
Retired Army captain Anh O. Brown, the event’s guest speaker, addresses the crowd at the Memorial Day Service of Remembrance at Serenity Meadows Memorial Park in Riverview. He said the gathering was “one small spark in the flame of pride that burns across the nation today and every day.”
Steve Spears, commander of VFW post 8108 in Riverview, performs the Navy Two-Bell Ceremony, held in remembrance of those who have fallen.
Retired Marine Corps Master Sgt. Ed Becker plays Taps.
About 150 area residents turned out to honor those who died in service to the country at the Memorial Day Service of Remembrance at Serenity Meadows Memorial Park on May 30.
After attending the Memorial Day Service of Remembrance, the family of Patricia Hauser, of Valrico, visit the gravesite of Morris Edmund Hammond, an Army veteran who is buried in Serenity’s Garden of Peace.
Jeanne Bush, a family services counselor at Serenity Meadows, thanks the crowd for coming out and everyone who participated in the Memorial Day Service of Remembrance at Serenity Meadows Memorial Park.
June 2, 2016 — A ceremony honoring the country’s fallen drew about 150 residents to Serenity Meadows Memorial Park in Riverview last Monday.
The Memorial Day Service of Remembrance featured retired Army Capt. Anh O. Brown as its guest speaker and traditional rituals, including the Presentation of Colors by Riverview High School JROTC cadets; invocation and benediction by the Rev. Bob Schneider of St. Stephen Catholic Church; Navy Two-Bell Ceremony and three-man rifle salute by members of Marine Corps League Detachment 1226; reading and American Flag folding by VFW Post 8108 Auxiliary members; and the playing of Taps.
Other youth groups included in the service were the Riverview High School Vision Chorus, which sang “America the Beautiful” and the “National Anthem” and Timucua District Boy Scout Troop 79, whose members performed several ceremonial duties, including the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance.
A floral wreath of remembrance was also hung.
Brown, who served in the military from 1996 to 2006 and received numerous medals, including the Bronze Star, spoke of the importance of remembering, honoring and paying gratitude.
“Our gathering is just one small spark in the flame of pride that burns across the nation today and every day,” he said. “It’s not a lot, but it’s one small way we can honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice so that we can live in freedom.
“Your presence here today and that of people across America is a tribute to those lost troops and to their families,” he continued. “It is a way to say, ‘We remember.’”
