Hundreds of people of all ages gathered at Star Park in Coronado Monday for a solemn remembrance of those who died while serving their country. The color-splashed audience that filled the small park sported plenty of red, white and blue.
Young children came to honor lost parents and grandparents. Wives came to honor husbands. Military colleagues offered stoic homage as the fallen were remembered.
"This place was full today. They were standing in the streets," said Terry Bucklew, who was drafted into the service in April 1968 and found himself in the middle of the Vietnam War just a few months later. "It's really touching to know that we still have a lot of support for the military within this country."
It is estimated that more than 1.3 million American veterans have died in the service of their country.
Navy Lt. Beth Teach had her hands full keeping track of her energetic son Hunter, and her heart was heavy as the Memorial Day observances called on people to think about those who couldn't be here.
"Unfortunately, we lost people we've loved, people we've worked with and served alongside," Teach said. "We think of them often. We think of many of them every day. But Memorial Day is when, really, the whole community stops to reflect on that and it's nice to see so many people come out."
The first service honoring fallen American soldiers happened in 1866. It was a response to the Civil War in which about 700,000 soldiers died.
