While many view Memorial Day merely as the unofficial start to the summer season, ceremonies were held on Sunday afternoon in Gloucester and Mathews counties to remind all of the true meaning of this national holiday.

American Legion posts in the two counties paused to remember the nation’s soldiers and sailors who paid the ultimate price in wartime, as well as thank their fellow veterans for their service to the country.

In Mathews

Approximately 60-70 people filled the American Legion Post 83 headquarters in Hudgins to mark the occasion. Mathews Sheriff Mark Barrick was the guest speaker, who joked that he was literally under the gun to be brief with his comments. “If you hear some clicking of safeties on rifles, let me know,” he asked the audience, referring to the Honor Guard members sitting in the back row with their M1 rifles.

Barrick went on to detail the history of Memorial Day, from its roots—both North and South—in the aftermath of the Civil W...