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Washington High School students with JROTC present the colors with the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) Beaufort County Chapter 48 and Beaufort County Veterans Organizations. Photo by Holly Morgan.

Washington High School students with JROTC present the colors with the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) Beaufort County Chapter 48 and Beaufort County Veterans Organizations. Photo by Holly Morgan.

Boy Scout Troop 21 with DAV Auxiliary Juniors led the crowd of about 200 in the Pledge of Allegiance. Tommy Hodges (not pictured) sang the National Anthem.

JROTC Senior Army Instructor at Washington High School, Jorge Bocanegro was this year’s guest speaker. Photo by Holly Morgan

Robin McKeithan holds a white rose given to her and other Gold Star families present at the ceremony. Gold Star families are recognized as having lost a loved one in service. Eight total families received roses on Monday. Photo by Holly Morgan

Members of the DAV and DAV Auxiliary Chapter 48, Ron Marriner and Mazie Midyette lay a wreath during the ceremony.

Photo by Holly Morgan

Photo by Holly Morgan

For some, Memorial Day is more than a day off from work. It’s a somber day remembering their loved ones who served in the United States military and lost their lives in service. 

Robin McKeithan, assistant director at the Washington Chamber of Commerce, lost her husband, CPT Patrick B. Olson. Olson was a pilot in Operation Desert Storm who was killed on the last day, she shared. Operation Desert Storm was announced by President George H. W. Bush in January of 1991. Its aim was to remove occupying Iraqi forces who invaded Kuwait and annexed it months earlier, according to The Atlantic. 

She’s “always thankful when people take time to remember those, like Patrick, who gave their life.” 

“I know it’s a fun, three-day weekend, but if everybody could just take a few minutes out of their day and remember the true meaning and those who did lose their lives,” McKeithan said when asked what she would like everyone to know about Memorial Day. 

A Memorial Day Ceremony was held in Washington on Monday, May 30, 2022 at Veterans Park on Third Street. This year’s theme was “Lest We Forget.” 

Lieutenant Colonel (ret) Jorge Bocanegra was the guest speaker. He is the JROTC Senior Army Instructor at Washington High School. 

“There are no words to describe the sense of gratitude I feel for those that have come before us,” Bocanegra said. He served 30 years in the military before retiring. His years of service, he said, “does not compare to those who gave it their all.”  

The ceremony was sponsored by Beaufort County Disabled American Veterans Chapter 48 and Disabled American Veterans Auxiliary and Juniors Unit 48.

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