LUBBOCK, Texas -
The Second Baptist Church of Lubbock held a service Sunday night to remember the 27 servicemembers reported killed in action since Memorial Day, 2015. Among the supporters were two Gold Star families -- who lost family members during the 2003 Iraq War -- Sheriff Kelly Rowe, and Judge Bill Sowder, a retired JAG officer himself.
The church also memorialized Taylor Force, the Lubbock man stabbed and killed during an attack in Israel last year. Church leader Ryon Price said remembering these lives is the "reason for the season" for this holiday.
"While going to the lake and having fun is part of the freedoms that we enjoy," he said, "we feel like -- as a church -- it's important to be gathered here to remember those who have died on behalf of our country and its people."
The church also held 22 seconds of silence to recognize the reported average of 22 veterans and servicemembers a day that commit suicide.
