Sunset Beach honors veterans at Memorial Day ceremony; committee grants $10,000 to hospice program

The Town of Sunset Beach gathered for its 2026 Memorial Day ceremony at Sunset Beach Town Park, where community leaders and residents honored those who died in service and the families who support them. John Corbett, chairman of the Committee to Honor American Veterans, presented a $10,000 grant to Lower Cape Fear Life Care’s We Honor Veterans program and introduced the event’s keynote speaker, retired Lieutenant General Douglas Stitt.

Corbett, a retired U.S. Army colonel and former mayor pro tem, thanked volunteers and donors who maintain the veterans memorial and noted that, since the memorial’s 2015 groundbreaking, the committee has raised about $220,000 for 17 local organizations. He presented the $10,000 grant to Anne Hewitt, senior philanthropic officer at Lower Cape Fear Life Care, saying, "Please accept our heartfelt thank you for your generosity and support to the Veterans Memorial and the Committee to Honor American Veterans." Hewitt accepted the award on behalf of her organization.

Lou DeVita, assistant treasurer of the committee and a former Sunset Beach council member, introduced the day’s keynote, Lieutenant General Douglas Stitt (ret.), a longtime resident who served 34 years in the U.S. Army. In his address Stitt read an early memorial order by Major General John A. Logan and urged attendees to keep the memory of the fallen alive by speaking the names of those who served. He acknowledged Gold Star families in the audience and referenced veterans from multiple conflicts. He closed by saying, "A life well lived, lest we forget."

The ceremony also recognized members of the local public safety community and long-time participants. Corbett specifically remembered World War II veteran Sergeant Leo Jarmus, who died in March at age 106 and had been a regular participant in recent ceremonies. The program included a pledge of allegiance, a performance of the national anthem by Pastor Travis Byrd of OIB Life Church, an invocation, and the playing of Taps by bugler David Nelms. Attendees paused for a wreath-laying, and bagpipers from the Wilmington Police Department played "Amazing Grace" as the event closed.

The Committee to Honor American Veterans said the $10,000 grant will support Lower Cape Fear Life Care’s We Honor Veterans program, which works with the Department of Veterans Affairs on hospice and palliative care for veterans in the region. The ceremony concluded with photographs of veterans and the wreath, and organizers invited interested veterans to join the committee.

The town mayor offered welcoming remarks at the start of the program, thanking citizens and visitors for participating in the solemn observance.