Linwood Cemetery Memorial Day service pays homage to war heros

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Senior Parole Officer of the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Parole Macon office, SFC Ronnie L. Mays Jr., served as keynote speaker for the 2014 Linwood Cemetery Memorial Day Service.

Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine veterans gathered at the Walnut Street cemetery to pay homage to those who they say gave the “ultimate sacrifice” while fighting for their country.

More than 100 people made up of veterans, politicians and residents listened as Mays told the crowd to put God first in honoring the men and women who died serving in the military.

Veterans from every military branch took part in the 2014 Linwood Cemetery Memorial Day service. The annual event paid homage to service men and women who lost their lives during wartime. The vets swopped war stories and talked about the men and women they served with in the military.

SFC Ronnie Mays Jr., is an Army National Guardsman. Mays told the crowd Memorial Day should be about celebrating the lives of those who were killed in battle.

He added, love should be the basis of why people serve in the military or why they serve each other.

“They paid that sacrifice in order for us to be able to stand here freely and not worry about anything, that’s pressing us down or tell us when we can speak or how we speak,” says Mays. “We have that freedom the right in this country.”