Biloxi Memorial Day event honors the meaning behind the holiday. See photos

By Hannah Ruhoff

Updated May 26, 2025 1:16 PM

Members of the Keesler Air Force Base Honor Guard during a Memorial Day ceremony at Biloxi National Cemetery in Biloxi on Monday, May 26, 2025. Hannah Ruhoff Sun Herald

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Biloxi honors fallen service members in Memorial Day ceremony at Biloxi National Cemetery.
Attendees included veterans, active personnel and Gold Star families paying tribute.
A ceremonial wreath and POW/MIA memorial table emphasized remembrance and sacrifice.

Veterans, service members, Gold Star families and the public gathered Monday under the hot sun and the live oak trees that line Biloxi National Cemetery for an annual ceremony honoring fallen service members for Memorial Day.

“Memorial Day is more than a holiday, it’s a sacred occasion, indeed,” said Col. Billy E. Pope, Jr., Commander of the 81st Training Wing at Keesler Air Force Base. “It’s a time for people to pause amid our busy lives and to pay tribute to the men and women who made that ultimate sacrifice.”

During the ceremony, a Gold Star family member, Jennifer Jones, who was honoring her brother Thomas Hilbert, who was killed during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2007, presented a ceremonial wreath.

Civil Air Patrol members stand beside a table representing prisoners of war and those killed in action during a Memorial Day ceremony at Biloxi National Cemetery in Biloxi on Monday, May 26, 2025. Hannah Ruhoff Sun Herald

The ceremony also displayed an honorary table for prisoners of war and those killed in action. The table, set with a white table cloth, an inverted glass, a candle and a rose, represents that those who have been lost in conflict are never forgotten.

Dr. Virgil Jefferson, who was the surgical operations squadron commander for the 81st during Hurricane Katrina, attended the ceremony with his wife, Leslie. Dr. Jefferson, a trauma surgeon who says he’s been in every war since the Gulf War, says people forget the reason for Memorial Day.

“People forget about it so often,” Jefferson said. “But I don’t forget it. I’ve been there.”

Take a look at photos from the event.