NOXEN, Pa. — Veterans and community members gathered at Patriots Cove in Noxen to fish for the fallen. The fishing competition is held every year during Memorial Day weekend. Most of the people participating are veterans or have family members who served and say this event is very important to them.
"Remembering my brothers and sisters that have fallen. Unfortunately, I've had too many of those. Just being out here with the guys having a little away time and some alone time," said Ben Chamberlin from Wyalusing.
"Great group of people, great event," said Paul Florek. "I love what the moral of this event really stands for."
It was the perfect day to spend time out in nature to reflect on what Memorial Day means, but now and then, there were bursts of excitement when a fish was on the line.
"Oh, we've gotten six of them so far. So, the biggest one is 17 inches rainbow. Very nice and also a three-track tag trout," Chamberlin said.
Veterans we spoke with say it's important to remember the significance of Memorial Day and how many people it affects.
"This weekend is all about those that gave the ultimate sacrifice, and we really do it for them," said Michael Lopatka. "That's what this is about."
Organizers say every year they add a few more bricks along their walkway to honor those veterans who have passed, including one of their own this year.
"We actually have a wife and a son of one of our team members who was a Marine who was killed recently in a car accident but was serving selflessly here at Patriots Cove," said Jeff Swire, Patriots Cove president and co-founder.
New bricks with the seven names of fallen service members were placed along with many other soldiers and veterans around the property.
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