NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – Dozens of veterans, family, friends, and strangers honored the Americans who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country at the North Myrtle Beach Memorial Garden this Memorial Day.

“Of all the holidays we have that celebrate our country, today is the specific day that we honor those Americans who’ve given the ultimate sacrifice and have given their lives in defense of this country. It’s the only day we do that and it’s special for that reason,” LTC Jason Pieri, Commander of the 2nd Battalion, 13th Infantry Regiment in Fort Jackson said.

Several veterans attended the Memorial Day service because they say it is important to remember the men and women who died for their country.

“I’m alive, and those who died, they died to help me stay alive, and I didn’t know any of them, and they probably don’t know who I was, but we were there together, and we worked as a full team,” William Everett, a Korean War veteran said.

“The times that I’ve gone to combat, the people that I’ve known that did not come home who paid the ultimate sacrifice, some were best friends, some were colleagues that I knew, today is the day that I remember the gift that they were to our lives and who they were,” Pieri said.