STOCKTON, Calif. — Tears were shed, hugs were shared and applause broke out as Stockton honored families whose sons and daughters sacrificed all, during a luncheon at the American Legion Karl Ross Post 16 Sunday.
Across the United States, the last Sunday in September is recognized as Gold Star Mothers and Families Day.
"There seems to be quite a big crowd coming in," said Gold Star father Mike Anderson. "We are here today to not only memorialize our children, today is about the families left behind."
Anderson was talking about families like his.
"I am the father of Corporal Michael D. Anderson, a United States Marine who was killed during the battle for Fallujah in house-to-house fighting," Anderson said. "We're a community that no one wants to belong to. We didn't fill out applications."
However, within Anderson's heartbroken community, there is camaraderie.
"My son, Brandon Dooley, was killed in Iraq on Jan. 20, 2006," said Gold Star Mother Julie Conover. "Because we are in this, we tend to stick together."
Solidarity was one of the ideas behind Sunday's gathering.
"I have made some amazing friends, Mike being one of them," Conover said.
The two fought through tears as they delivered keynote speeches to the crowd of veterans, politicians and community members.
The two are also leading an initiative to install a permanent memorial to Gold Star Families like theirs' at the new Richard Pitman VA Clinic in Stockton. They hope to be able to dedicate the new monument by February.
"Remember these kids, they volunteered. They didn't have to go do this," Anderson said. "They volunteered to protect this nation... volunteered to fight for their families and not all of them came back."
With more people volunteering to serve every day, the fear that their community will grow is real.
"Things are escalating," Anderson said. "We don't know where it's going, but yeah, it's tense moments."
Today's times serve as a reminder of their immeasurable losses and the importance of never forgetting.
"They say you die twice, one time when you stop breathing and the second time when somebody says your name for the last time," Conover said. "Say their names."
Watch more from ABC10: Horses Healing Heroes is a nonprofit in Herald working to help veterans
