(Image source from: The Romanski Group)

Hundreds of area residents gathered on Sunday at United States National Cemetery in Fort Smith to pay tribute to fallen military, who gave their lives for their country.

The cemetery held its Memorial Day affair at 2 p.m. on Sunday.

Marshall Murphy, director of U.S. National Cemetery in Fort Smith said, Memorial Day is an important day for America to honor those who fell in battle. The country will commemorate the 150th anniversary of Memorial Day this year.

"Since the first Memorial Day, Americans have continued the tradition of remembering our veterans and those who died in service to our country," Murphy said. "It was during our great Civil War that Congress realized that the nation needed a place to remember the fallen, so they authorized the president to establish cemeteries for soldiers who had died in the service of our country. From this one sentence, the national cemetery was born."

He added, "We will continue to build places like this, but the question remains: What can we possibly say to the Gold Star families, or those who have given so much. There are no words, but there are actions. We can visit a national cemetery, attend a Memorial Day ceremony, volunteer to place flowers at gravesites and pause to reflect on the lives lost. As a nation, we must keep the same promise that those who served kept to one another: that their lives will not be forgotten, that their sacrifice was not in vain."

By Sowmya Sangam