Members of the audience wait as a color guard from Fort Hood posts the flags. PHOTOS BY MAT TAYLOR A large crowd braved the heat to attend a Memorial Day ceremony at the Sylvia Tucker Memorial Park in Kempner.

Kempner Mayor Gene Isenhour welcomed everyone to the event. Eighth Engineer Battalion Chaplain Michael White gave the invocation.

In his comments, Isenhour said Memorial Day is a time for Americans to be thankful they live in the United States, where freedom and democracy are proudly defended.

“It is a day in which Americans take time out to honor those men and women who served in our armed forces and who paid the ultimate sacrifice for the freedom they enjoy.

“Every Memorial Day, we try to grasp the extent of this loss and the meaning of this sacrifice,” Isenhour said. “And it always seems to be more than words can convey.

“All we can do is remember and appreciate the price that was paid for our own lives and for our own freedom.”

Fort Hood’s 8th Engineer Battalion squad fires a 21-gun-salute during Kempner’s Memorial Day observance. He also encouraged those in attendance to remember that special group of veterans who still are missing and unaccounted for. “We honor them today.”

Following the mayor’s comments, the presentation of the colors was handled by the 8th Engineer Battalion Color Guard, and Boy Scout Christopher McGehee led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag.

Isenhour and the retired Col. Walter L. Prugh laid a wreath at the base of the Veterans Memorial monument and saluted all members of the armed forces who gave their lives for the United States.

An 8th Engineer Battalion squad fired a 21-gun salute, and high school student Trey Policarpio played “Taps.” The program concluded with a benediction by Kempner First Baptist Church Pastor Rev. Don Casper.

Kempner Mayor Gene Isenhour, right, and retired Col. Walter L. Prugh placed a wreath at the base of the Veterans Memorial monument. PHOTO BY MAT TAYLOR Isenhour noted that more than 300 engraved stones in the Wall of Honor at the Veterans Memorial recognize the service of a family member or friend. The stones will be a permanent display of recognition for true American heroes, the mayor added.

Stones may be purchased for past or present members of any branch of the armed forces. Contact Kempner City Hall for more information.