CHURCH POINT, La. — The Church Point 21 are remembered—21 soldiers, who gave everything.
Twenty-one soldiers who lost their lives in the line of service.
Eleven of them were between the ages of 18 and 21.
Only one of them ever married, and none of them had children. So, as the years passed, and the soldiers' loved ones passed with them, fewer and fewer were left to remember those who were fallen.
But, a group of local veterans won't let them be forgotten.
For the last seven Memorial Day weekends, a group of veterans gather at the Church Point Depot on Main Street and turn it into a memorial park to honor and remember the 21 soldiers from the Church Point area.
They put out flags, poppies, photos of the fallen and crosses bearing their names, which were made by students at Church Point High School.
For three days, the veterans stay at the memorial park from sun up to sun down, watching over the soldiers. Every hour, on the hour, they patrol, play "Taps" and honor the fallen with a salute.
"It started real slow before people got the hang of it, you know, and started coming, so. A lot of work that was worth it—that is worth it, you know," said Leander Daigle, Sr., a veteran of the U.S. Army. "They gave their lives for us, so that's very important...it's a privilege to be here."
The three-day memorial will conclude with a ceremony, where a bell will be rung for each of the 21, either by one of the veterans or a relative of the fallen.
The closing ceremony will be at 6 p.m. on Memorial Day, which is Monday, May 27.
