AUSTIN, Texas — On Memorial Day, many Central Texans honored the brave men and women who have lost their lives serving the U.S.
Many veterans who lost loved ones, as well as people with no military ties, made the trip to the Veterans Memorial & Monument in Cedar Park to pay their respects.
One man walking his dog at the memorial told KVUE he served two tours in Vietnam. He said out of his group of seven high school friends who were deployed there, only five came back.
Austinite Charles Revelle said his uncle died at the Philadelphia Navy Yard after contracting the 1918 influenza on the ship home after serving in World War I. Revelle said another uncle died in World War II on the Rhine River from shrapnel just before crossing into Germany.
“He’s actually buried in France still 'cause my grandmother didn’t want to move him,” Revelle said. “She said, ‘Well, he’s happy where he is, and you know, why go through that again and move him back to the States?’”
Michael Lozano came to honor his father and brother, both Air Force veterans with four and 20 years of service, respectively. Lozano said his brother passed away about a year ago, preceded by his father six months before.
“One day when my brother came to visit me, I actually brought him here, and I have a picture of him standing right next to that,” Lozano said pointing to the hilltop section of the memorial. “I’m always going to remember that. So, I come here and I can visit him.”
The memorial came together in 2011, in large part due to efforts by local residents and businesses. A centerpiece statue on Cedar Park's highest point stands in the likeness of a hometown hero: U.S. Army Specialist First Class Matthew Morris.
Morris was killed in Balad, Iraq, in 2008 while serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was posthumously awarded the rank of sergeant, along with the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.
City officials say the memorial’s monument to Gold Star families – a term used to describe the immediate family members of a service member who died as the result of active-duty military service – is the first of its kind in Texas.
The names of other veterans who have passed away line the main walkway, known as the Pathway to Heroes. On Monday that pavement was flanked by American flags.
The memorial also includes a number of nods to Texas: panels show a bomber stationed at Dyes Air Force Base in Abilene, along with the George H.W. Bush Aircraft Carrier.
The memorial is an ongoing project, which most recently added a statue in 2020 paying homage to military nurses.