A few hundred veterans and their family members visited the Arkansas State Veterans Cemetery in North Little Rock Monday for an observance of Memorial Day led by veterans officials and state leaders.
Gloria Lawson attended with her husband Charles, a Vietnam veteran. She noted Arkansans are still at war and said she feels close to veterans of all eras.
“It gives me a feeling of greatness to know that everybody loves one another, to be here, and to support each other during, especially during the war times that we’re going through, and also to be together,” said Lawson.
There are over 5,700 Arkansans on active duty and over 185,000 Arkansas veterans live in the state that have served during wartime, according the Department of Veterans Affairs, and nearly a quarter of a million veterans call Arkansas home.
Johnny Mass said he’d be going to Memorial Day ceremonies at the cemetery for eight years and finds the proceedings sincere and reaffirming.
“I’m a World War II, Korea, and Vietnam veteran and I can realize the appreciation for something like this that’s going on to recognize our veterans,” said Mass.
Governor Mike Beebe noted in his remarks that military service often also means the devotion of family members and the necessity of them altering the trajectory of their own lives.
