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One of the foremost military cities in Florida will host an elaborate annual ceremony marking Memorial Day on Monday morning.
The city of Jacksonville is honoring fallen U.S. service personnel beginning at 8 a.m. Monday with the annual Memorial Day Observance. The event begins with a “pre-ceremony” before the full ceremony begins at 8:30 a.m. the city’s Veterans Memorial Wall.
The monument, outside of EverBank Field stadium at 1145 E. Adams St., was established in November 1995. The Memorial Wall serves as a tribute to more than 1,700 military personnel who died while in service. All those listed on the wall are from Jacksonville or the surrounding area.
Jacksonville’s Military Affairs Office along with the Veterans Department is organizing the event. The ceremony will include presentations along with wreaths honoring the fallen. There will also be patriotic music performed by military musicians. The event will be capped by remarks from military leaders acknowledging the sacrifices.
The event is free and open to the public. Free parking is provided in nearby public lots surrounding the stadium.
Several veterans organizations are taking part in the event including active-duty military personnel, local civic and government leaders and Gold Star families.
The wall itself is a granite monument that stretches 65 feet bearing the names of the service members who died while on duty since World War I. The site also has an eternal flame.
The Jacksonville Memorial Wall is the largest such monument in America honoring fallen military veterans outside of the Vietnam War Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. The Jacksonville memorial is also the only monument of its kind in the nation that honors all six U.S. military service branches including the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, Coast Guard and Merchant Marine.
Jacksonville has multiple military installations. Chief among them is Mayport Naval Station with several ships ported there along with some aviation operations near the mouth of the St. Johns River. And Naval Air Station Jacksonville services mainly aviation operations on the city’s West Side on the northern shore of the river west of downtown.
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