Photo By Sgt. Noah Braswell | U.S. Marines with the Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron Color Guard prepare for...... read more read more
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Taps sounded throughout New Bern National Cemetery on the morning of Memorial Day, May 29, 2023. Hundreds of onlookers gathered to pay their respects to those who had given the full measure of devotion to their nation. Stories of heroism and sacrifice were shared with all in attendance that the lives of the fallen would live on with their fellow Americans. Veterans and Gold Star families shared in honoring the nation's bravest during the ceremony, being recognized for their devotion and many sacrifices in service to their country.
"All across America today, and in many parts of the world, Americans are gathering at cemeteries to pay tribute to those men and women who fought and died in defense of our nation,” said guest speaker retired Rear Adm. Jay DeLoach. “We are humbled by your sacrifices as we know they are great. We commend the demonstration of courage and strength that you have shown throughout the most difficult of times.”
The Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron Color Guard began the ceremony with the presentation of the colors. After honors were paid, the ceremony was concluded with a 21-gun salute, executed by the Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point Rifle Detail, and the playing of taps by U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Taylor Brown, a musician with the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing Band.
"Our veterans here understand the kind of sacrifice that they made for their country over the years, and their families have shared in that sacrifice,” said guest speaker, Dr. John Byrd, laboratory director of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. “Families carry the burden for those who made the greatest sacrifice for their country.”
Following the surrender of the last significant Confederate army in North Carolina, and subsequent Union victory of the American Civil War, New Bern National Cemetery was established on Feb. 1, 1867. In 1869, the U.S. Army Quartermaster General’s Office bought roughly seven acres of land to further develop the cemetery. By 1874, the cemetery hosted approximately 3,249 internments, with the remains being relocated from cemeteries in New Bern, Morehead City, and Beaufort, and from battlefields at New Bern, Hatteras, Kinston, Roanoke Island, and Wyse Fork. In the early 1900s, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island established monuments to honor the men of the Union Army who fell in North Carolina during the Carolinas Campaign.
Today New Bern National Cemetery is the final resting place for more than 7,500 service members and their families.
| Date Taken: | 05.29.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 06.01.2023 16:47 |
| Story ID: | 446005 |
| Location: | NEW BERN, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 105 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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