Memorial Day ceremony in Jefferson County honors Colorado veterans

Rifle shots echoed through Jefferson County to honor those who gave their lives for this country.

A lone bagpiper filled the air with "Amazing Grace."

The Golden Cemetery was decorated in red, white and blue and those who came showed their patriotism on their clothing and in their hearts.

Lucille Chavez was among them.

"My father served in Korea and then in Vietnam and he was out with his soldiers and his platoon," she said. "All we were told was that he was shot."

There are markers here for those who served from the Civil War to the Korean War and other conflicts in which the United States fought.

There are rows and rows of flags, each one representing a life of someone who served their country.

Zachary Bursnall is a VFW Post 4171 commander.

"When they put them in, all of them have the embroidered names of the people we lost from Golden, Colorado in the military," he explained.

Memorial Day is not just to honor the dead, but it is a holiday for the living.

Along West Colfax in Lakewood, Monday was the perfect day to show off cars from America's past.

Kyle Kimbrough brought out a 1950s era Jeep.

"It represents the military," he told CBS News Colorado. "Those who have fallen fighting for our freedom."

Some in Jefferson County chose to spend this warm weather day on the waters to cool off while the sound of taps reverberated through cemeteries across Colorado.