43rd Annual Memorial Day Service held at Cape Coral funeral home

The Southwest Florida community comes together every Memorial Day to honor the men and women who lost their lives in war.

The Coral Ridge Funeral Home in Cape Coral held its 43rd Annual Memorial Day Service with a 21-gun salute, ceremonial flyover and wreath presentation.

The service highlights the importance of honoring military sacrifices.

Music, American flags and people proud of their patriotism all symbolize Memorial Day, but some families know all too well the true pain of the day.

“This is his 20th Angel For City, as the Gold Star moms call it today, that our child died,” said Bill Eggers, a Gold Star Family member from Cape Coral.

Eggers is part of an honored group that nobody wants to be a part of. They’re called Gold Star Families, and they include dads, moms, brothers and sisters, all who lost a man or woman in service of the United States.

“The last 20 years have been one hell of a more personal event for me,” said Eggers, “since our green variety son was killed in action in Afghanistan in 2004.”

During Coral Ridge’s Memorial Day service, the people gathered to pay tribute to several Gold Star Families.

“Thank you, Gold Star parents and families, for everything you have sacrificed. May you be wrapped in the arms of our community and know that you have support from every single one of us,” said the speaker during the ceremony.

The tent was packed full of people who support, remember and honor veterans like Larry Stone, who pays his respects every year.

“I’ve served with a lot of people that were in Vietnam and came back with a lot of things, skeletons, if you will, in their minds, but to folks who were in battle that lost their lives that faced battle and lost their lives for our freedom, we can never forget that,” said Stone.

While you take time to acknowledge the day, remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect your freedom.