CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — For many, Memorial Day is more than just a day off work. It's a day to remember their family members who gave their lives in service to our country
Maria Rangel and her husband were married for almost six decades before he passed away.
She tells me that what they had was special and that there's not a day that goes by where she doesn't think about all that he did not only for here, but also for our country.
Pointing to the necklace that laid on her red POW-MIA t-shirt, Rangel told 3NEWS about one of her most precious belongings.
"This necklace means the world to me. My son gave it to me on my first Christmas without my husband. It's his thumbprint, and I wear it all the time with pride," she said.
Maria Rangel's late husband of 56 years, Juan, was a Vietnam veteran who serves between 1966 and 68.
After Juan passed, he was buried amongst thousands of veterans at the Coastal Bend State Veterans Cemetery in Corpus Christi
"Memorial Day is very important because all of these veterans that are buried here, that have passed away.” Rangel said. “They fought for our freedom. They fought for our country. Now they're buried here, and a lot of them are forgotten. That's why try to come and see my husband as often as I can."
Memorial Day can be an especially tough day for a those with loved ones who served in the military and died in combat. Those families would be considered Gold Star Families.
Pattie Latch is the founder of America's Gold Star Families, a non-profit that helps grieving military families through a variety of services.
"The losing of their family members is directly related to each of us on a very personal level. It's for our freedom.” Latch said. “They navigate this life with a broken heart, but they can go on. I have been so proud of so many of them while watching them evolve in their healing."
Latch says a day like Memorial Day is more than just another holiday, not only to those who have served and are still here, but to those whose loved ones have lost their life while serving the country.
“It causes the whole nation to pause, reflect and remember freedom is not free and it comes at an incredible price.”
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