FERNANDINA BEACH, Fla. – Nassau County veterans led a Memorial Day gathering in Fernandina Beach on Monday morning to pay tribute to the community’s fallen heroes.
The Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4351 hosted the ceremony at the “Monument to the Fallen” in downtown Fernandina Beach.
One of the county’s VFW posts hosts the event each year.
They commemorated the day with speeches and a wreath-laying, in addition to reading the names of those who died serving the country.
Rear Admiral Ret. Gene Kendall said this gathering was not a celebration, but a commemoration.
“We remember those among us, particularly Nassau County veterans who died in service of their country,” Kendall said.
One of the speakers at the event was a Montford Point Marine. That’s the term used for the first Black Marines who joined the service in the 1940s and trained at the segregated training facility at Montford Point Camp in North Carolina.
