COCOA, Fla. – A new Brevard County-based group dedicated to honoring veterans buried in area cemeteries will soon remember them for their service and sacrifice.

  • Brevard group to honor veterans buried in area cemeteries
  • First veteran to be honored will be PFC Emory Bennett
  • Bennett died fighting in the Korean War

And one of the first vets to be honored is a Cocoa man who died in war saving the men he served with.

"The first vivid memory I have of him was at his funeral, which was in my grandparents' living room," Cocoa resident John Bennett said.

John Bennett doesn't remember much of his uncle Emory Bennett.

PFC Bennett went to fight in Korea right out of Cocoa High School. And it's only then his nephew became aware of how he fought and died. PFC Bennett's unit was under attack in the early morning hours of June 24, 1951, and the rifleman volunteered to stay behind to cover the retreat.

He left his foxhole and engaged the enemy.

"He was already wounded, he had lost his glasses, he could still make out figures in front of him," John Bennett said.

His men were later attacked again and again. The young soldier volunteered to do it once again.

And laid down his life to protect his fellow soldiers.

"He was killed right there at the spot," John Bennett said.

PFC Bennett was awarded the Medal of Honor six months later on February 1, 1952.

In 2005, his family formed a non-profit and commissioned a tribute statute in Riverfront Park. And he's buried in the city's Pinecrest Cemetery.

That's where the new group Brevard Honors Veterans – Wreaths Across America will pay respects for his sacrifice and service.

He's the first of many veterans buried in local cemeteries that will be honored.

"It's so nice to put forth the effort for all the service people," John Bennett said.

Brevard Honors Veterans -- Wreaths Across America will honor PFC Bennett at his gravesite in Cocoa's Pinecrest Cemetery on December 14 at noon.