Under the unforgiving May sun, Stephen Carr wandered around Evergreen Cemetery Saturday looking for veterans’ graves to place American flags. The 75-year-old Vietnam veteran and Gainesville resident followed paper maps to identify where those who served had been laid to rest.
More than 1,000 veterans are buried across Evergreen’s 56 acres, located at Southeast 21st Avenue. Saturday’s flag-placing tradition happens twice every year in anticipation of Memorial and Veterans’ Day.
Marihelen Wheeler, the chair of the Alachua County board of commissioners, also read the county’s proclamation officially recognizing Memorial Day to more than 200 people who gathered at the cemetery Monday.
Attendees held white fans to cope with the heat as they sat before a stainless steel monument inaugurated in November. Los Angeles-based artist James Dinh designed the monument, which features beams with a star-shaped outline.
Wheeler said it was important to remember both the fallen and returning service members whose lives were significantly altered by their experiences.
“They came home, but they came home and lost homes. They lost limbs. They lost minds,” she said.
Kat Cammack, U.S. Congresswoman serving Florida’s 3rd Congressional District, urged attendees to use Memorial Day to reflect upon how they can be better citizens in light of service members’ sacrifices.
Carr reflected on his own struggles adjusting back to the life of a civilian after returning home. He said he could sleep only with a gun next to him for a year following his return home because of habits he developed during the Vietnam War. Carr said he overcame post-traumatic stress — even as certain memories lingered.
“Eventually you get back into not having to worry about combat,” he said. “That’s just the way the human brain works, that you eventually get over traumatic things that happened to you. Now some things you’ll never forget, like the death you saw.”
Kathleen Kauffman, a member of Gainesville’s Historic Preservation board, also volunteered. She spoke of her own family’s experience with generations of military service and the importance of setting a positive example for the next generation.
“If we don’t show kids that we are out willing to volunteer and help the community do things like this, how do we expect our kids to learn how to do that?,” she said.
Contact Omar at oateyah@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter @OAteyah.
Omar Ateyah is a third-year journalism student and the Alligator's Race and Equity reporter. He previously served as the Alligator's crime reporter and as a news assistant on the Metro Desk. He enjoys going on long, thoughtful walks.
