JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Saturday marked one year since the freighter El Faro sank during Hurricane Joaquin, killing all 33 mariners aboard. Family, friends and maritime officials gathered to pay tribute to their loved ones at a private ceremony.
The ceremony was emotional and somber for the families as they remembered and reflected. Signs have were put up with the new name, “El Faro Memorial at Dames Point Park.”
In the last hour of the ceremony, a gold lighthouse statue was revealed. The lighthouse serves a symbol for the 33 people who did not make the voyage home.
Music played during the ceremony and a procession was held before the statue was revealed. She said Saturday's memorial was moving.
The area was chosen as a dedication because it’s where El Faro left on its final voyage. One of the men who was honored was LaShawn Rivera. News4Jax spoke to his great-uncle, Barry Young, by phone before the ceremony.
“We are reflecting on it. It’s painful. It’s still painful. The wounds are still there,” Young said. “Our hope and our prayer is (that) because of this tragedy, more safeguards will be implemented, and better oversight of the maritime industry as a whole.”
Rochelle Hamm said she is still mourning the loss of her husband, Frank Ham III, who's also the father of their three children.
“I thought it was awesome, awesome," Hamm said. "Not only did they have the lighthouse, they also have the name of the crew members along the side of the wall and the family members get the opportunity to write something under it personally to have it engraved.”
The memorial - now a new way for her to connect with the man and women still out at sea.
"They are out there somewhere, I didn’t think that it was going to be this drug out of time, but in the midst of me going through my pain," Hamm said. "I’m making progression and purpose.”
In addition to the new name and statue, the park is undergoing other renovations including new street lights and landscaping.
The park will officially be open to the public Sunday.