BUSHNELL, Fla. — Flags line the uniform rows of graves at the Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, where loved ones gathered to commemorate the fallen on Memorial Day.
“The saying it time kind of heals. No. I feel the same. I still feel hurt and sad. But we know he’s in heaven,” said Adel Ramirez.
Adel Ramirez remembers his brother’s ability to make everyone feel like a friend, his big smile and his Purple Heart.
“Everything that you would want a big brother to be, he was,” said Adel Ramirez.
Sgt. Eric Ramirez died on the battlefield during Operation Iraqi Freedom at 31.
“He was deployed right after the attacks on 9/11 and served there for about a year. Probably a couple of months before he was to return, he passed away. He was killed by an IED,” said Adel Ramirez.
That’s why Adel Ramirez chose to spend this Memorial Day at Florida’s National Cemetery.
“This is not just a day about hamburgers and going to the beach and having picnics. It’s about remembering the soldiers who have lost their life for this country,” he said.
"This is not just a day about hamburgers, going to the beach, and having picnics. It's about remembering the soldiers who have lost their life for this country."
— Lauren Seabrook (@LSeabrookWFTV) May 27, 2019
We're sharing stories of Florida soldiers who put our freedom first and died fighting for it starting on @WFTV at 4pm pic.twitter.com/DtZWJpTPV1
DOWNLOAD: Free WFTV News & Weather Apps
Not near a TV? Click here to watch WFTV newscasts live
Cox Media Group
