JACKSON, MS (Mississippi News Now) -
Hinds County citizens, who made the ultimate sacrifice in the U.S. military since World War I, were honored this Memorial Day in front of the Hinds County Courthouse in Downtown Jackson.
The ceremony was complete with the firing of weapons and the playing of taps. There was even a living statue presented by Hollywood Entertainment of Pearl.
Those who gave their lives for their country from Hinds County were honored. Col. Dennis Smith, a retired Mississippi Army National Guard colonel, and WLBT news director, was one of the featured speakers who talked about a soldier from Brandon, who died last year in Afghanistan in Helmund Province, Staff Sgt. Jason Rogers of the United States Marine Corps.
"His mother Jenny, his stepfather and grandparents are here with us today. We owe it to all of them, never to forget their sacrifice," said Smith.
"This year is going to be really hard. But we go back to being so much more patriotic and we have so much more appreciation for our military, for those who have given their lives to freedom, and this country," said Jenny Smith, Sgt. Rogers' mother.
Robert Graham, the president of the Hinds County Board of Supervisors, was also one of the speakers.
"Today is a day we must never forget. A day we must always remember," said Graham.
"We have a generation of people who have known nothing but wars. Like in my case, we went from one to another," said 76-year-old retired Master Sergeant and Vietnam veteran, Luis Vargas of Jackson.
There are over 500 names on a monument of soldiers, sailors and airmen from Hinds County who made the ultimate sacrifice in World Wars I & II, Korea and Vietnam.
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