LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Every Memorial Day, Veterans in Hardin County take the time to remember those who passed throughout the year by name.
At Monday's annual Memorial Day Elizabethtown Veteran's Tribute, fallen heroes who died between May of 2025 and May of 2026 were honored by having their names called during the ceremony.
"The people that gave up everything...everything so you can enjoy this day," Kentucky American Legion department commander Joe Garrett said.
Garrett said rounding up all the names for the ceremony can be a chore.
"Memorial Day is when we get to say their names and we tell their stories," he said.
"I think it's important to tell stories...especially when there are young people in the group and to pass those stories on to younger folks so they understand that what they may take for granted now wasn't always the case. It was fought for by ordinary people doing extraordinary things."
As a veteran who served 26 years in the Army, took two tours in Vietnam and retired a year after returning from Desert Storm, Garrett knows the sacrifice those who serve make. He said it's his honor to remember them.
When veteran Gary Brewer reflects on the years that he served and his deployments, he said he's proud to have chosen to serve America.
"When they leave to go on deployments, they're leaving their family and everything behind," Brewer said. "It made a man out of me, it gave me discipline. It made me basically who I am today."
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