The event Monday morning began with a performance from the Park City Treble Makers, a local all-female a cappella group.
A color guard from the Summit County’s Sheriff's Office presented the Utah and American flags to begin the ceremony.
Park City Mayor Nann Worel, who served as a U.S. Navy nurse during the Vietnam War, was the keynote speaker.
“The men and women so long ago who imagined the holiday that we now call Memorial Day knew what they were doing when they had it this time of year,” Worel said. “It’s a time of renewal and strength after a long winter. They must have imagined all the flowers in bloom, a million or more, representing those lost in battles here and on almost every continent around the globe.”
Worel said citizens have a responsibility to remember the men and women who died fighting for the United States.
“Never forget the men and women who knew all too much the cost of our freedom, for their service to this country is the greatest gift of all,” she said.
Glenn Wright is the adjutant of American Legion Post 14, which organizes the annual event.
Wright offered attendees a chance to highlight friends and family members who died in the line of duty. About a dozen people offered remembrances.
This Memorial Day coincides with several historical milestones in American war history. Those include the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War (April 30, 1975), and the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day (May 8, 1945), which marked the end of World War II.
