A gathering of military personnel joined community members at the Veterans Memorial in the newly christened McEuen Park on Monday—Memorial Day—to pay tribute to “a special bunch of veterans who were either lost or buried at sea.”

The annual Laying of the Wreath Ceremony, organized by the local Veterans of Foreign Wars, was held for the first time at the new park and attracted more than 100 people, far more than have attended the remembrance event in year’s past.

Military officials at the event included Jim Sheppard, past commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post 889, in Coeur d’Alene. Sheppard has been conducting the ceremony since 1952 and is a World War II veteran.