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The memorial to fallen soldiers came near the end of the Gullah Festival, which concluded Sunday.
A small group of women from Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War, outfitted in khaki uniforms and military-style wedge caps, sang the hymn "Nearer, My God, To Thee" as two members held American flags and others stood in their Sunday best.
"I want to be a part of remembering those who gave," said Bettye Millender, 61, of Burton, who was holding a flag. "I just want to remember."
The small group also included Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War. Shortly after 3 p.m., the group tossed flowers into the Beaufort River and prayed. The ceremony followed a service at First African Baptist Church on New Street.
"We ask, Lord, that you give them rest," said the Rev. Joseph P. Bryant, associate minister of Ebenezer Baptist Church on St. Helena Island. "We ask, God, that you promote them to a better life."
Bryant is a Navy veteran who served in the 1970s.
"We should never ever forget the sacrifices that were made on behalf of this country," he said.
The Rev. Dr. Elijah Washington, chairman of the Memorial Day committee with the Sons and Daughters of Union Veterans, said he's been participating in this annual service since he was a child and that this is the 112th year local residents have tossed flowers into the river in remembrance of military personnel who have died at sea.
"These people gave," he said. "Some of them gave everything they had for peace for this nation and abroad, and I think they need to be remembered."
