A Memorial Day ceremony at Highland Park in Rochester included the unveiling of a new memorial to those who fought and died in recent military operations.

It was a day to honor service and sacrifice. But this Memorial Day was unlike most others. Times being what they are, honor was observed at a distance.

"We cannot gather in the usual way today," Monroe County Executive Adam Bello says. "But that does not diminish the importance and profound meaning of today’s ceremony."

The ceremony, on the spot of the future home of the War on Terror Memorial, honors those who fought and died in conflicts from 1990 and beyond.

"This is about those who laid down their lives so that we could enjoy this great life that we enjoy in this great nation of ours," says Monroe County Sheriff’s Sgt. Hector Sotomayor, chairman of the War on Terror Monument committee.

The committee is engaged in an ongoing fundraising effort to pay for any future repairs once the memorial is built. Monroe County Parks Department will be responsible for its upkeep. $250,000 in state funding will help pay for the memorial.

"God bless them, God bless you for being here," says state senator Joe Robach. "And thank you for never forgetting."

"We know nobility when we see it," Monroe County Sheriff Todd Baxter adds. "We know bravery when we see it. We know it's sincerity and sacrifice and a dedication to a higher calling when we see it, because we love these fallen, and we love their families."

The new memorial is designed for military families like the Hasenaur’s of Hilton. Dan and Rita Hasenauer raised four military boys.  Son Jason, an Army private first class, died during service in Afghanistan in 2005.

"For us, it's nice that it's a place for us to come and just sit and think and remember," says Dan Hasenauer. "Not just for my son. It's for all the fallen."

"I beg every single one of you to please make sure that your children and their children know that this nation is paid with the blood of patriots and warriors," Sotomayor says. "That there are memorials like this today so that we may come and enjoy reminiscing, and our freedoms in a grateful manner."

Now that ground has been broken, construction on the War on Terror Memorial will start next spring.

"I want it for more than fallen soldiers," Dan adds. "I want the ones that served to bring their children to say, look, this was built for us. People are trying to remember us and thank us for what we've done, and you can never thank them enough."

This effort is a start. A 'thank you' to those who paid the ultimate price, in service, and sacrifice.