The salute of gunfire was followed by the somber notes of taps filled the air around Seaborn Jones Park on Sunday afternoon as veterans gathered to remember the fallen for Memorial Day ceremonies held for 2024.

From the few hundred who gave their lives in Desert Storm to the hundreds of thousands who died fighting one another during the Civil War more than a century ago, the real reason to gather over the holiday weekend is to honor the sacrifice of those who fought for the cause of freedom.

Rockmart’s American Legion Post 12 called upon Richard Shortt again to speak to participants in Sunday’s ceremony. He used the time not only to remind attendees that the sacrifices haven’t been made by just those who are serving in combat.

Shortt noted that somewhere around 60,000 personnel have been killed while on training exercises, more than 1,000 service members a year since 1980. Their sacrifice is just as important, Shortt noted, and largely goes unrecognized.

He hoped that those who don’t take part in annual ceremonies will in future remember those who have fallen instead of focusing only on the commercial and social side of the the holiday.

Memorial Day began in the 1860s as Decoration Day, a way for those who fought for the Union and sacrificed for the cause of freedom to be honored.

“Maj. Gen. John A. Logan declared it should be May 30,” per a history provided by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. “It is believed the date was chosen because flowers would be in bloom all over the country.”

Others claimed to be first, but it wasn’t until 1971 that it was declared a national holiday by legislation of Congress.