'There's a hole in your heart that never gets filled': Remembering our veterans on Memorial Day
LOS ANGELES - "There's a hole in your heart that never gets filled!"
They're the words of 30-year Marine veteran Carroll Harris, who's talking about the many friends he's thinking about on Memorial Day.
"Some of the people that were with me from my initial days in the Marine Corps are gone, so these are lifelong bonds for me that go back decades," Harris says.
Some, he says, were lost on the battlefield during the Iraq War; others more recently by suicide from issues like post-traumatic stress disorder.
Veterans, both men and women, lined up at the VA Hospital in West Los Angeles for a Memorial Day barbecue honoring those who served our country.
Though they served in different branches, most said they know veterans who died while in service or after from issues related to their years in uniform.
One vet said his uncle never came back from Vietnam, while another said he lost friends, and it was still "hard".
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The music is relaxing from a live blue grass band. The food served up by volunteers in a partnership between our parent company - FOX - and US Vets was really good.
But, as a special day some said, Memorial Day is more of an observance than a holiday because of its somberness.
"While I was on active duty my husband passed away. He died by suicide which, unfortunately is in keeping with the national trends with those who served in the military passing away after service from issues like post-traumatic stress disorder, and others," said former Marine Tess Banko.
Right before this event, Banko was at a wreath-laying ceremony at the Los Angeles National Cemetery in West Los Angeles.
"There are things like the cannon going off or the 21 gun salute that take me back to the place that I was standing in the cemetery as a widow," she says.
She says they served as triggers. So, while Memorial Day is set aside to remember those no longer with us, those that are say they appreciate the day of remembrance.