On Memorial Day, Utah leaders gathered at the State Capitol to honor all those who sacrificed their lives for the country.
Gov. Spencer Cox, Sen. Mitt Romney, Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, and Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall all attended the ceremony. Many officials who attended the ceremony such as Gov. Cox and Sen. Romney spoke on behalf of those who lost their lives in the line of duty.
During his talk, Romney highlighted Staff Sgt. Taylor Hoover and Staff Sgt. Lincoln Olmstead, two soldiers who died on duty over the past year. Hoover was a U.S. Marine who was one of 13 service members killed at the Kabul Airport on Aug. 26. Olmstead, a member of the National Guard, died while partaking in a training exercise in Kentucky.
Cox also mentioned Hoover and Olmstead during his speech, urging everybody in attendance not to remember his speech but to remember how they feel honoring those who died keeping the country safe. Olmstead was a family friend who grew up near the governor’s home.
The Utah National Guard gave a 21-gun salute honoring the fallen soldiers on the south side of the Capitol building after the ceremony.
