Jentill Neal (WSYM) -- "Celebrate, Honor, and Remember" is this year's theme as the city celebrates those who are living and who have died fighting to protect the country.
The Memorial Day committee for the city held a gathering at Little Arlington, which is inside of Evergreen Cemetery. Those who attended got a history lesson of it's origin, and why it's important to take a moment to remember the past.
"When we speak of history and even veterans and war stories, there were all kinds of war stories. It's not just one sided or just for a group of people it is for everybody," Tracey Hampton- Yarborough said.
Yarborough felt it was important to highlight the Civil War, specifically the story of Robert Smalls who was a slave who played a role in helping the union to show unity, and how there are still some states who believe in celebrating a time when the nation was divided.
"I was stunned at the amount of people who came up to me and appreciated the history and the story," she said.
The horns played as many paid their respects.
"We hear forget about it. It's in the past," Mayor Virg Bernero said to the audience. Forgetting the past is something he said we can't do.
"It's a time for us to remember that we stand on the shoulder of giants, people who put on the uniform of the United States and go out and defend our freedoms. That's what it's all about."
Rick Riggins served in the Vietnam War and finished in the Persian Gulf. Although he is living, he reflected on people who aren't and said he is very grateful that he did what he could at the time of war.
"It is our history and it's a lot of people who sacrificed during that time that lost their lives as well and so they need to be honored," he said.
