- April 22, 2024
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Palm Coast and Flagler County's Memorial Day ceremonies have traditionally been held at Palm Coast's Heroes Memorial Park and outside the county's Government Services Building, where residents have gathered to hear solemn presentations, the singing of the national anthem and the playing of taps. This year, COVID-19 restrictions prevented the gatherings, but local governments still put on ceremonies, streaming them over the internet or broadcasting them by radio.
"Whether they fought from muddy trenches in Europe, or patrolled the jungles of Vietnam or the mountains of Afghanistan, we honor them all."
— DAVID SULLIVAN, County Commission chairman
"Instead of standing side by side in remembrance of our service members who’ve given their lives for our country, we must instead honor them in our hearts," Palm Coast Mayor Milissa Holland said in the city's video ceremony, played at 8 a.m. May 25 through the city's Facebook page. "… Those of you who hold dear the memories of deceased loved ones, please know that your fellow Palm Coast citizens honor our departed service members not just today but every single day, as they have always been the very essence of bravery and integrity in this community."
Palm Coast's ceremony included a virtual walk through Heroes Memorial Park, the singing of the national anthem by Jill Vanderoef, and the playing of Amazing Grace on bagpipes by Palm Coast Firefighter/Paramedic Patrick Juliano, the commander of the city's Fire Department Honor Guard.
U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz also offered remarks, speaking by video from the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial in Washington D.C.
"Just know that day in and day out, every day that I wake up, I think about — I wear these bracelets of — the Green Berets that I lost, that can no longer be with us, that make it possible for us to enjoy the freedoms that we have in this most amazing country," Waltz said. "As we head into Memorial Day, I am thinking about you all and fighting for you all."
The Flagler County government's ceremony began at 9 a.m. May 25 and included Last Roll Call — the reading of the names of Flagler County veterans who have died over the past year, as reported by local military organizations.
Admiral Mark Boensel, US Navy (retired), said that Memorial Day provides an opportunity to celebrate the principles service members died defending — individual freedom and self-determination.
"We often hear that freedom comes at a price; we’ve seen the truth of that statement since our county’s founding," Boensel said in the county's ceremony. "In every American generation, there are those who pick up the banner of liberty and pay its due. ... I know that in the course of grief and in the quiet reflection of thinking about loss of a precious and irreplaceable life in military service, there’s almost inevitably a question, spoken or unspoken: Was it worth it? I want to offer that, if you consider a successful and worthwhile life as one of consequence — a life that uplifts other and makes the world a better place — then it definitely was and continues to be worth it. It’s worth it not only for us as Americans, but also for billions of people around the world for whom America remains a beacon of hope and opportunity."
Sisco Deen, a member of the Flagler County Historical Society and a retired Air Force captain, gave a presentation on his distant cousin Loyce Edward Deen — the first aviator in U. S. Naval history to be buried at sea in his aircraft, after he was killed in action in the Battle of Manila Bay in World War Two.
County Commission Chairman David Sullivan, a Navy veteran, said it's important on Memorial Day to recognize service members' sacrifice, even though the way the community does so must be different this year.
"We are challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic, but it is our fervent desire that we approximate what we would normally do to reflect on the enormity of the sacrifice of the courageous servicemen and women who paid with their lives to preserve the freedoms afforded by the Constitution," Sullivan said. "They protected family, friends and fellow Americans in their time and for generations to come: Whether they fought from muddy trenches in Europe, or patrolled the jungles of Vietnam or the mountains of Afghanistan, we honor them all."
