VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — The weight of words can weigh heavy on days like Memorial Day.
But through all the words that can be used to describe the day of remembrance, Laurie Dadiomoff has found that sometimes the most important things to say are names, instead.
"There are many years where I stood out in our front yard, by myself at our flag pole where my husband was traveling and no one could join me," she said.
Dadiomoff is no stranger to military life, whose husband served 20 years in the Navy and whose son approaches 20 years as an Army helicopter pilot.
In 2011, Dadiomoff began a tradition that she still carries out to this day.
"I found the Department of Defense would post names of casualties," she said. “I started collecting them on index cards, and I had no idea it would turn into this."
Every Memorial Day, through rain or shine and with or without company, Dadiomoff speaks aloud the names of fallen service members across the country. Each new line written, another loss she wishes she didn't have to write down.
But to her, carrying out the tradition helps her feel connected to other military families, and ensures the lives and names of the fallen are not forgotten.
This year, she did so in front of the 2023 Run to Remember 5K Memorial Day race at the Military Aviation Museum with friends and family.
“They are so much more, we always say 'never forgotten' which is why this is critical. To remember them as individuals, who paid such an incredible price for us," she said.
Dadiomoff estimates she's inked roughly 1,000 names over the last 12 years on her index cards.
“On Memorial Day, to say their names out loud: somewhere out there, there is a grieving wife, mother," she added. "It doesn’t go away.”