Gold Star marker at Freedom Memorial Park honors families of fallen heroes
A marker was placed at Freedom Memorial Park on Friday in honor of Gold Star families, or families of fallen service members.
The solemn occasion included the presentation of colors and the singing of the National Anthem before the Cross Creek-Briarwood Garden Club unveiled the new Gold Star marker at the memorial at 111 Bragg Blvd.
"Hopefully events like this, efforts like this, to place these markers will help educate the public to help us remember all of our heroes," explained Pattie Elliot with the Cross Creek-Briarwood Garden Club. "That's what is important, for them to never be forgotten."
Gloria Leggett is a Gold Star wife whose husband was killed in Vietnam April 4, 1968.
"He was a loving husband, a loving father ... even though he never got to see his daughter," Leggett said. "My daughter was about three and a half months old when he got killed in Vietnam, but he was the love of my life. We were high school sweethearts. We stared going together in 10th grade."
"He was a helper ... he helped everyone around him," said Francesca Wilder, another Gold Star family member describing her loved one. "He took care of everybody."
Gold Star family members on Friday remembered their loved ones by saying their names and ringing a bell in their honor.
A wreath was placed at the foot of the Gold Star marker, which stands just off Hay Street.
The family members present for Friday's ceremony told WRAL News, for them, every day is Memorial Day, and they will never forget the sacrifices their loved ones made.
