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Hundreds Gather in Manhattan to Honor Fallen Service Members

Alexander Edwards, 89, one of the first black Marines in the U.S., during World War II. (Sarah Gonzalez/WNYC)

Hundreds of people gathered in a cold rain at the 113-year-old Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument on the Upper West Side to mark Memorial Day. 

The wreath presentation. (Sarah Gonzalez/WNYC)

Groups including the American World War Two Orphan's Network and the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War presented wreaths at the foot of the monument to honor their fallen parents.

"My father is buried in Belgium," said 73-year-old Nancy Morrell. Her father was killed in World War II. "I was one-and-a half, so I didn't really know him but you don't have know someone to feel that impact."

89-year-old Alexander Edwards, one of the first black Marines, presented a wreath. 

The Montfort Point Marines were the first black Marines in the country. They trained in a segregated camp in North Carolina. (Sarah Gonzalez/WNYC)

Vicki Epler-Thompson of Murray Hill has been attending the ceremony at the monument for 5 years.

"It's just a very emotional time for me and I want to support the vets," she said. "I've lost many friends who were in Vietnam and my father was in the Navy so it's a big part of my life coming here every year." 

The U.S. Navy Band at a Memorial Day Ceremony at the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument. (Sarah Gonzalez/WNYC)
The monument was built to honor Union soldiers who died in the Civil War, according to the Riverside Park Conservancy. But it now stands as a memorial for all service men and women who have given their lives.