Fallen service members honored in Onondaga County

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — At Onondaga County’s annual Memorial Day observance, held on Sunday, May 26, at the Onondaga County Veterans Memorial Cemetery, there are personal stories behind each name listed.

Christopher Simpson, 23 years old, a Gold Star recipient, and a son.

“My son always bought me flowers, but he would not buy me flowers that would die, he would buy me flowers that I could plant and grow in the ground. Of course, I can’t do that here other than the gardens I had put in, so I buy him flowers every year,” said Kate McLaughlin, Christopher’s mother.

But she didn’t just bring flowers for her son.

“The second set of flowers were for my dad, who we’re so grateful there was a spot next to Chris back from 2008 when he passed,” McLaughlin said, “His father reserved both spots, and when my dad passed, he graciously gave this spot to my dad, so papa and Chris could be next to each other.”

A gesture that helps bring comfort to Sergeant Simpson’s family.

A park in Memphis, New York was renamed in Christopher’s honor. It’s just another way of memorializing the names of those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

“Speak their name. Christopher was 23, he didn’t have a chance to live. I know many other Gold Star families here who lost young ones, their legacies just keeping them all in your memory,” said McLaughlin.

As the quote reads on the bench in honor of Christopher’s memory: “No man ever dies until you stop speaking their name.”

“It’s about remembering those young kids who offered to go over, volunteered to go over, fight for our country so we could be free,” McLaughlin said.

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