59th annual Memorial Day Service held at Fresno Memorial Gardens, more than 1,400 flags displayed

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- American flags lined the Fresno Memorial Gardens Monday.

Each one, a sobering reminder of the military members who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.

A rifle salute was held for the brave men and women who lost their lives defending our country.

The Fresno Memorial Gardens held its 59th annual Memorial Day Service.

Local military organizations laid wreaths at the mock tomb.

Diane Durando laid a wreath alongside the Daughters of the Revolutionary War.

Her father and stepfather both served in the Navy and fought in World War II.

"We have our freedom, our right to talk, go where we please and these men and women gave that to us," said Durando.

Large American flags lined the cemetery.

Each one marked in memory of a military member who made the ultimate sacrifice.

Volunteers put them up and take them down each Memorial Day.

Tracy Pacheco says her father, Bill Gonzalez, always helped with the flags.

He served in the Army and fought in Vietnam.

He died last year, so this year, she attended the service in his place.

"Now that he's not here, I just feel like we need to honor him and just do whatever we can," Pacheco said.

A quartet gave a choral salute to each branch of the military and those who served were asked to stand during their respective anthem.

Congressman Jim Costa was in attendance and helped dedicate the avenue of flags to this year's honoree.

He also thanked those who sacrificed for our liberties and the families they left behind.

"When we talk about the sacrifices, the ultimate sacrifices that we honor today, we should never forget the families who were a part of that sacrifice," Costa said.

The flags were pulled down Monday afternoon.

They will be folded up and stored until next years' service.