Community pays tribute on Memorial Day to county’s veterans who gave their all

Megan Horn/The Clayton Tribune. Community members placed 48 flags at the memorial for “all who served honorably” and passed away this past year during the Monday, May 26, Memorial Day Ceremony.

Megan Horn/The Clayton Tribune. Major (Ret.) Doug Wayne, U.S. Army, member of Disabled American Veterans (DAV) Ch.15; American Legion Post 220; and Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) 4570, remarks to a patriotic crowd during the Monday, May 26, Memorial Day Ceremony to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice and died in service to the United States of America.

Megan Horn/The Clayton Tribune. The Honor Guard at Monday’s Memorial Day Ceremony consisted of veterans from DAV Ch. 15; American Legion Post 220; American Legion Post 84; VFW Post 4570 and VFW Post 7720.

Megan Horn/The Clayton Tribune. The speaker for the Memorial Day Ceremony at the Rabun County Courthouse was Sgt. Dustin Rogers, Air National Guard (ANG), who spoke about the importance of honoring veterans. He also gave a personal account about visiting the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., with his father when he was 10 years old and how that inspired him to serve in the military. Pictured to the right is Maj. (Ret.) Doug Wayne.

Megan Horn/The Clayton Tribune. A large crowd attended the Memorial Day event held at the Veterans memorial in front of the Rabun County Courthouse Monday. Community members, including many veterans and family members of fallen soldiers, stand for the Pledge of Allegiance and singing of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Veterans saluted with respect.