More than 1,000 people gathered at Cedar Grove Cemetery this morning for the traditional observance of Memorial Day. This year’s keynote speaker was Sergeant Major Kellyane O’Neil, a Dorchester native who is currently assigned to Womack Army Medical Center in Fort Bragg as the Patient Services Sergeant Major. The mom of three told the outdoor assembly that she "never played Army or even dreamed of being a soldier."

"But in 1980 I enlisted in the Army... and chose to be a member of the greatest, best trained and most powerful army in the world as an active duty soldier serving for 32 years as a combat medic."