Hall County military veterans once again spent part of the Memorial Day weekend at Rock Creek Veterans Park in Gainesville, remembering their fellow service members who gave the ultimate sacrifice during battle.
Some 168 names are engraved on monuments and bricks at the park, each one in memory of a Hall County service member who was killed in action.
This year, the veterans included the display of the Soldier's Cross as part of the ceremony. Vietnam veteran Johnny Hulsey, one of the organizers of the annual Memorial Day event, said he and some other local veterans saw a similar ceremony at a recent Moving Wall presentation in John's Creek and wanted to make the same presentation in Gainesville.
"We try to do something new every year," Hulsey said, noting that the Soldier's Cross has special significance for him. "If you'll notice our Vietnam monument, it's got the soldier's cross on it. We had a lot of designs to choose from, but that's what we came up with because we lost our brothers in Vietnam and that's what the Soldier's Cross is about - to honor the war dead.
More than 200 people attended the 2 p.m. memorial ceremony at the park.
Click on the photo to see a full pictorial gallery from Sunday's ceremony.
