Retired Air Force munitions specialist Daryl Mayfield says he wears a baseball cap honoring his wartime service not for praise, but because he believes in the work and the sacrifices he made overseas.
Still, on Saturday, as Mayfield and 42 other Henderson veterans were recognized with their names engraved in stone at Water Street Plaza in Henderson, the 73-year-old said he got chills.
“This program is special,” Mayfield said. “I’m proud that the community recognizes the veterans here.”
The city of Henderson held its annual Veterans Day ceremony in the plaza’s amphitheater on Saturday, ahead of the Wednesday holiday.
During the ceremony, the 43 names that had been newly added to the Henderson Veterans Memorial Wall were read aloud. The memorial, where more than 2,000 names of local veterans are already engraved, is a circle of upright stone slabs surrounding a fountain next to Henderson City Hall. It is the only one of its kind in Southern Nevada, officials said.
In addition to the unveiling of the newly added names to the memorial wall, the hourlong ceremony featured a presentation of colors and remarks from keynote speaker Falisha Rexford, an honorary commander at Creech Air Force...