The fourth Monday in May is set aside to honor, to remember and to uphold the legacy of the fallen.
Memorial Day commemorates those who’ve given their lives in service to the country, and on May 25, people gathered at the All Wars Memorial at Fourth and Broad Streets for that solemn purpose.
Maj. Gen. Ryan M. Janovic, Commanding GeneralCyber Center of Excellence and Fort Gordon, has experienced firsthand the meaning of Memorial Day.
“In the mountains of eastern Afghanistan in 2011, I was the commander of a battalion,” he told those gathered Monday.
Many of those serving were young soldiers, barely out of their teens; and some of them did not make it home.
“I remember their faces; I remember their families; I remember the painful quiet of memorial ceremonies,” he said.
And he spoke Monday to call on others to take a moment to reflect and remember their ultimate sacrifice.
Sponsored by the Military Order of World Wars, the annual ceremony also featured area groups such as Clarence H. Cohen Chapter 162 General Oglethorpe Camp of the Heroes of 76, National Sojourners, Fort Gordon Color Guard and Augusta Pipes and Drums, which participated in the observance.
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News and Inspiring: Women of Augusta, has covered Augusta’s news for more than 35 years. She’s won multiple Georgia Press Association awards, is the recipient of the 2018 Greater Augusta Arts Council’s media award and was named Augusta Magazine’s best local writer in 2024 and 2025. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here.
