Fort Jackson’s Memorial Day Commemoration Ceremony

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) – A Memorial Day Commemoration Ceremony was on Fort Jackson to honor who died while serving our nation.

People were able to gather in-person after not being able to the past two years because of the pandemic. Brigadier General Patrick Michaelis say it is good to see people come back in large numbers to remember the lives lost. He’s been a number of times and has lost soldiers along the way.

“Their memories are etched in my soul. It’s something that I never forget and everyday I seek to be a better person to serve them and their families,” Brigadier General Michaelis. 

It is the same is for many families who are holding on to the memories. Lumeshia Grims came to honor her brother who gave his life to service. 

“He served his country with dignity and pride,” say Grims. She believes grief never leaves you and she says thankfully neither does the memories. “Think about the good days, think about the good times you had together. Its alright to cry but don’t cry for the rest of your life. Think about the good things that you shared together.“

For the Walburn family, today was spent teaching. Ricky Walburn is a veteran who has two sons who followed his footsteps and are in service. He brought his grandsons to the ceremony.

“I was talking to the boys coming in . . the root word of Memorial Day is memory and as long as you keep the memory of these soldiers alive they’re not truly gone. That’s important to pass that message on,” says Walburn.