Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – Lawmakers and well-wishers gathered in the Capitol Rotunda for the annual ribbon-cutting for the Illinois Memorial Day Wall of Remembrance.

The large-screen video display was created from donations of photographs and remembrances of family members and friends that lost loved ones who made the ultimate sacrifice for the nation.

Senate Minority Leader, John Curran, led the event. He says the Wall seeks to bring a real connection between the visitors and the remembered. He says it’s about the husband, the wife, the father, the mother, the son, the daughter and the friend who loved this country so much they were willing to lay down their life for it.

Several lawmakers who are active military or a veteran were in attendance.

IL Rep. Jason Plummer was an officer in the US Naval Reserve, so he knows all too well bravery of the nation’s fallen heroes.

He says each name represented on the screen represents courage, commitment and sacrifice and that all must always be remembered in our hearts and how we live our lives and do our work.

IL Senator, Li Arellano, is also a staff sergeant in the US Army Reserve. He talked to the assembled about how the day must be more than parties and picnics. He suggested visiting a military cemetery, proudly displaying the American flag or offering a prayer in memory of those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

The Illinois Memorial Day Wall of Remembrance is on display thru June in the Rotunda.