A 1,000-pound bronze bell, forged in honor of Colorado’s fallen, tolled several times during the Colorado Freedom Memorial on Saturday morning.

The Colorado Freedom Memorial Foundation, along with the City of Aurora, held its 11th annual Colorado Remembers ceremony on Saturday, celebrating Memorial Day and those who gave everything for the country.

Cannon fire from the Colorado Army National Guard followed the ringing bell, bringing about silence throughout the park as over 100 attendees honored the nation’s fallen servicemen and servicewomen.

“Today we’re all are here to make sure the fallen and those they left behind are not forgotten,” Rick Crandall, executive director of the Colorado Freedom Memorial Foundation, said in front of the monument.

The first monument, which opened in 2013, is a glass wall echoing the layout of the mountains with 6,218 names etched into it. Each name is a fallen military member from the state of Colorado, stretching all the way back to the beginning of the state.

To Crandall — who began planning the park and its three Colorado-based military monuments in 2000 — looking out over the countless faces and veterans attending the 11th ceremony represents both the importance of the holiday and the mission he began at the turn of the century.

“Throughout the process I kept wondering, ‘Is this really a good idea? Is this really something people want to see and support?'” Each one of these ceremonies answer those questions,” Crandall said.

But, Crandall added, it’s important to remember the main purpose of the day that became a federal holiday in 1971 — honoring those that died for our country.

Despite people being well-intentioned, he noted, honoring veterans and current servicemen is not the point of the day — that’s for Veterans Day.

“Events like this help people understand and celebrate the real meaning of this day, to honor those that gave all,” Crandall said. “Another thing is saying, ‘Happy Memorial Day.’ It’s well-intentioned, but for 6,200 families in Colorado, there’s not much happy about it. There needs to be another word for it.”

Though the day focuses on fallen soldiers, veterans were still honored during the ceremony with a standing ovation, including freshly 100-year-old Walter Barbo.

Barbo, who flew in the Army Air Corps in World War II, still flies a plane out of the Denver region.

“I’ve been flying all of my life. I’ve been an active pilot for 82 years, longer than most people are old,” he said. “I do it once in a while to show I can still do it.”

“I might give it up next year,” he pondered. “I have nothing else to prove.”

While Barbo said he doesn’t attend events like this often, he noted that the ovation made him feel like a hero and that the park is “marvelous.”

“This is the way to honor people that served,” he said of the memorials.

And honoring those that served stretches well past Memorial Day for the Colorado Freedom Memorial park and Crandall. The building process continues, with a new visitor center in the works.

Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman and City Mayor Jason Batchelor signed a concession agreement regarding the visitor center during Saturday’s ceremony.

“We are so proud as a city to host the Colorado Freedom Memorial,” Coffman said. “With over 6,000 names to remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our freedom.”

When complete, the building will include a theater, conference rooms and a plethora of history items.

“We’re going to build a building worthy of their sacrifice,” Crandall said. “We don’t only want you to see a name, we want you to understand who each person was.”