‘The fallen soldiers we honor this Memorial Day Weekend gave everything to preserve this nation.’

A U.S. Navy museum in Jacksonville got a visit from U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody Saturday as part of events marking Memorial Day Weekend.

Moody was the keynote speaker on deck of the U.S.S. Orleck Naval Museum in downtown Jacksonville. The retired naval vessel is a floating museum moored on the North Bank of the St. Johns River in the city’s urban core and was the site of “The Last Full Measure of Devotion” Memorial Day Weekend event.

The event was hosted by Americans for Prosperity, a conservative grassroots organization. The museum displays the U.S. Navy’s history and commitment to protecting America in a city that is one of Florida’s foremost military towns.

Moody spoke as part of the ceremony that honored U.S. military personnel who died while in service to their country. Veterans, military families, Gold Star families and Jacksonville dignitaries and community leaders were in attendance at the event.

“The fallen soldiers we honor this Memorial Day Weekend gave everything to preserve this nation. The best way we can honor them and their families is by living worthy of that sacrifice, by standing for the principles they defended,” Moody said.

The Orleck was a destroyer commissioned at the tail end of World War II and the vessel was key in naval operations in the Korean and Vietnam wars. The ship is named after Navy Lt. Joseph Orleck, a World War II veteran who was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for his meritorious service during that war.

The vessel was relocated to downtown Jacksonville in 2022 where it’s served as a museum since its retirement.

Jacksonville is home to major Navy operations and installations. Mayport Naval Station at the mouth of the St. Johns River has been a key base for decades along with Naval Air Station Jacksonville, which is just west of downtown.

The Oreck event is just one of many Jacksonville Memorial Day Weekend honors this holiday stretch. The city is honoring fallen U.S. service personnel beginning at 8 a.m. Monday with the annual Memorial Day Observance. The event begins with a “pre-ceremony” before the full ceremony begins at 8:30 a.m. the city’s Veterans Memorial Wall.