OCALA, FL (352today.com) – The Semiannual Memorial Reading to remember and honor the memories of veterans in Marion County who passed away during the six-month period from Oct. 2024 to April 2025, was held July 12, 2025, at the Ocala/Marion County Veterans Memorial Park.

Col. Robert Schlegel, Ret. U.S. Army, delivered the keynote address at the ceremony that honored the memories of veterans from the different armed services. The impact of what veterans’ experience in terms of trauma is far reaching.

“I feel that we veterans all feel some sense of guilt regarding our service, and I’ll explain,” said Schlegel. “Those of us who saw intense combat and saw their comrades killed and or maimed have survivors’ guilt. Those who served in a combat zone that were not actually in combat have a different but similar kind of guilt because they too probably saw the results of some of the combat and were horrified by what they saw including equipment damage by combat, individuals wounded or maimed by combat, buildings destroyed and similar horrific things.”

Schlegel went onto say, some of the individuals who were deployed overseas in non-combat areas and had the potential for combat also share a kind of guilt, noting that their service was important, but it wasn’t where the shooting was.

“With those veterans who served in the air or on the sea, their guilt will depend upon where their ships or aircraft went and what they did,” said Schlegel. “Those who served solely in the United States or within our territories or were never activated national guard or reserve units share a guilt because they feel they were never used to their full potential as others sacrificed for them.”

The names of those who passed from the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Air Force, U.S. National Guard, and U.S Army Reserves, were read with a bell ringing after each of their names. The ceremony also featured a rifle salute, taps, and the posting and the retiring of the colors by the Marion County Veterans Memorial Honor Guard.

“The ceremony is really heartfelt, and it’s an honor and tribute to the veterans and families that sacrifice so much,” said Beverly Lafferty, Hospice of Marion County. “We would love for the community to come just to represent our community, whether they have a loved one or not being recognized or whether they were in the service. Their support means everything to the families.”

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