Families Remember Local Servicemen as Heroes

JACKSONVILLE, FL -- Hundreds gathered at the Veterans Memorial Wall to remember men and women who have died in defense of freedom, including seven local servicemen who died in the past year.

The memorial wall already has more than 1,700 names of men and women dating back to World War I.

Patricia Smith told the crowd of how she remembered her son, 24-year-old Keith Van Robinson, who died last year of cancer while serving in U.S. Navy.

"He lived the life his granddaddy talked about: work hard, keep your ears your open, your nose clean and chin up. That he did," said Smith.

Mary Setzler spoke proudly of her 23-year-old son, Tavarus Setzler, who served in the U.S. Army.

"I saw my son transform into a man when he enlisted into the military," said Setzler. Tavarus was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq last October.

Smith, whose son was a 2003 graduate of A. Philip Randolph Academies of Technology, said the memorial wall gives her some comfort.

"We honor him as our hero...he is certainly mine," said Smith.

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