SANFORD, Fla. — People across the nation are coming together to honor and remember the legacy of fallen service members who served our country.

In Sanford, hundreds gathered at Veterans Memorial Park to pay their respects at the city’s annual Memorial Day Remembrance Ceremony.

Spectrum News 13 met a U.S. Army veteran who said Memorial Day is not a happy day, but instead, it’s a day to pay respects, honor, mourn and remember all of the fallen U.S. service members.

“Everybody wants to say happy Memorial Day, but it’s not a happy day, it’s remembrance of our fallen, the dead,” said Henry R. Leonard who’s lived in Sanford on and off for about 30 years.

Leonard’s Memorial Day includes sitting with his friends, admiring and listening in to Sanford’s annual Memorial Day Remembrance Ceremony.

Leonard, who served in the U.S. Army from 1974 to 1982, said serving has been a generational thing for him and his family. His grandfather and uncle served too.

“I went in during the Cold War, so we had always a constant threat,” said Leonard, who’s a member of the American Legion Post 52 in Sanford.

He knows about threats and death. He lost two friends when he served in Europe — both killed in accidents.

On Monday, he remembered them and his fellow soldiers while also encouraging others to join.

“I even try to talk about people about going into the military,” he said. “It helps develop character; it helps give you purpose in life.”

Gov. Ron DeSantis has ordered flags to be flown at half-staff to honor those who died in the line of duty.