Ahead of Veterans Day, Henderson adds names of 43 veterans to memorial wall

Retired Air Force munitions specialist Daryl Mayfield says he wears a baseball cap honoring his wartime service not for praise, but because he believes in the work and the sacrifices he made overseas.

Still, on Saturday, as Mayfield and 42 other Henderson veterans were recognized with their names engraved in stone at Water Street Plaza in Henderson, the 73-year-old said he got chills.

“This program is special,” Mayfield said. “I’m proud that the community recognizes the veterans here.”

The city of Henderson held its annual Veterans Day ceremony in the plaza’s amphitheater on Saturday, ahead of the Wednesday holiday.

During the ceremony, the 43 names that had been newly added to the Henderson Veterans Memorial Wall were read aloud. The memorial, where more than 2,000 names of local veterans are already engraved, is a circle of upright stone slabs surrounding a fountain next to Henderson City Hall. It is the only one of its kind in Southern Nevada, officials said.

In addition to the unveiling of the newly added names to the memorial wall, the hourlong ceremony featured a presentation of colors and remarks from keynote speaker Falisha Rexford, an honorary commander at Creech Air Force Base.

Three of the 43 veterans have died and were being honored posthumously, and members of the Henderson Symphony Orchestra played Taps in their honor.

“Somewhere, as we gather here to celebrate Veterans Day, there is a young airman who will miss their child’s birthday. There is a soldier who won’t be coming home for Thanksgiving,” Rexford said. “Not because they don’t care, but because they made a promise. They understood that service to their country would require sacrificing the very moments that make life worth living.”

At the end of the program, Henderson City Council member Monica Larson invited the audience, largely veterans and their families, to pay respects at the Henderson Veterans Memorial Wall, directly above the amphitheater.

When it was dedicated in 1994, it bore the names of 1,200 veterans and service members who were Henderson residents during their service.

Mayfield retired from the Air Force in 1994 while stationed at Nellis Air Force Base. He then worked as an educator with the Clark County School District for two decades.

Standing in front of the plaque with his name, Mayfield shared war stories. He served in the Persian Gulf War and helped build bombs used against Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq, he said. He also served in Korea for over a year.

Near another plaque, Laura Prendergast ran her thumb over the name of her son, Nicholas Mueller. The Army veteran died in a motorcycle crash this year, she said, and was listed alongside other who have died.

Prendergast was joined by her husband, her daughter, who is also a veteran, and Mueller’s friends.

She became choked up when asked what it meant for her son to be recognized.

“I’m just so proud of him,” Prendergast said.

Contact Akiya Leggio at [email protected].