SKYWAY MEMORIAL MARKS 35 YEAR ANNIVERSARY

Memorial Day is upon us and we salute all the people who have given their lives for our country.  Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force and Coast Guard have all lost lives to protect and serve.  Fallen Police officers across these United States, the people of the 9/11 attacks and many more.

A diiferent kind of memorial was dedicated this month in St. Pete but the loss was the same.  People lost mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters.  On May 9, 1980, the Skway Bridge accident took the lives of 35 people.  Thirty-five years later, a monument has been erected on the Pinellas County north side of the Skyway dedicated to those lost their lives.  The monument has all the names of the those lost on that fateful day.  

Many attended this memorial dedication, the Mayor of St. Petersburg Rick Kriseman, the Eckerd College Search and Rescue Team, family members from around the country and the man who spearheaded the cause, Bill DeYoung, who wrote a book about the Skyway.

Remembering the tragedy from 1980 that I only read about and saw on TV,  I stood at the dedication listening to people speak about losing a father who drove to work over the Skyway from Bradenton and family members whose mother was on the Greyhound bus that was lost.   It made me think about all of those affected by the loss of loved ones in various wars and tragedies, the stories within the story.

On this Memorial Day weekend, we remember the fallen but also remember the people whose lives were forever changed as a result of losing someone.

We salute you all!

Photos by Vicky Sullivan, Rock The Lens Photography for The Sarasota Post