After the COVID pandemic sidelined the 2020 Memorial Day ceremony at Gainesville's Rock Creek Park, local veterans were glad to be back together this year to remember their fellow service members who died in battle.
More than 100 people gathered at the park on West Academy Street just off the Downtown Gainesville Square, a crowd that event organizer Johnny Hulsey declared "one of the largest ever."
Among the speakers at the Sunday afternoon event was John "Jack" Enkeman with the Korean War Veterans of Georgia. Enkeman told the crowd he served as part of Charlie Company of the 5th Regimental Combat Team, an assignment he described as "a tough, tough go."
"Memorial Day to us should be a stark and painful reminder of those men and women who were never afforded the opportunity to be honored as veterans for their service because they have made the supreme sacrifice," Enkeman said. "Whether they were volunteers or whether they were draftees, they represented the best that America had to offer."
He said he is often thanked for his service by members of the community who see him wearing his Korean veteran ballcap around town.
"I really appreciate it, but at the same time it reminds me of all of the friends that I had that did not come home with me from Korea," Enkean said.
Not only did the veterans groups pay tribute to those local service members - 168 total - who died in past battles, they also remembered fellow veterans who were active members of their groups - Rock Creek Vietnam Veterans, American Legion Post 7, American Legion Post 328 and Longstreet Veterans - who had died in 2019 and 2020.
The Memorial Day ceremony has been held at Rock Creek Park since 2007, the year the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was installed at the park.
Click on the top photo to see other photos from Sunday's event.
