PANAMA CITY — Each year a day is set aside to pay respect to fallen men and women of the United States Armed Forces.
Several Americans visit cemeteries and place flags on the graves of those who died while in military service. For this Memorial Day a local funeral home and a local civic organization will be holding tributes to the soldiers who paid the ultimate price for their country.
A Memorial Day Observance will be held at 10 a.m. at Kent-Forest Lawn Cemetery, 2403 Harrison Ave. The public is invited to attend the free event featuring patriotic music, presentation of colors and wreath, 21-gun salute, Taps and more. Guest speaker for the event is Col. David E. Graff, 325th Fighter Wing Commander, Tyndall Air Force Base.
Later in the day a Memorial Day Ceremony will take place at 2 p.m. at 810 Garden Club Drive. Capt. Scott Pratt, USN from Naval Surface Warfare Center will be the keynote speaker.
“A few years after WWII, the president of the garden club was instrumental in planting trees on the grounds to represent fallen WWII soldiers,” said Mary Butzke, Memorial Day chairman.
The Garden Club park is one of only two war memorial parks in Florida. In later years the group decided because they were a war memorial park they should erect a war memorial wall on the grounds.
“All the war dead of Bay County are on the wall,” Butzke said. “All the way up to the present date, they are all listed on the wall.”
Currently about 62 names are ensribed on the wall.
After the ceremony, club members will build a wreath to be placed at the Memorial Wall by Adam Brudnicki, a veteran of Iwo Jima.
“Six years ago Bay County had eight pearl harbor survivors and they carried the wreath each year,” Butzke said. “All those men are gone and we don’t know if there are any more Pearl Harbor survivors in Bay County.
Butzke encourage any survivors of “the day that will live in infamy” to get in contact with the Garden Club at 763-9563.
“If there are some out there we would like to hear from them,” Butzke said.
Refreshments will be served. The event is free, indoors, air-conditioned and open to the public.