At Oakwood Cemetery in Raleigh, Courtney Chavez visited the grave of her son, Staff Sgt. Zachary Wood Lyon Jr., pointing out his headstone marked with a heart.
"He's the only one with the heart on the marker," Chavez said.
Chavez said she regularly visits his gravesite, leaving notes for her son.
"Every once in a while, I will come here. I'll write a note and stick it here ... there is another one," she said.
She attended a Memorial Day ceremony earlier Monday at Oakwood, holding a photograph of Lyon. Reflecting on his life, Chavez said, "I just have immense, deep pride."
She described her son as a compassionate leader.
"He led with kindness. He was a great leader. He was patient, and he went out of his way to make sure that people felt valued and took time to listen and to teach them properly. So, you know, his oldest sister, you used to say he was the glue that held the family together," Chavez said.
Lyon, a Broughton High School graduate, served six years in the United States Air Force before he was killed in a crash while stationed at a base in Oklahoma in June 2022. He was 24 years old.
A day of remembrance at historic Oakwood Cemetery
Monday marked Chavez's fourth Memorial Day without him.
"I'm here to honor him and other men and women who took the oath to serve and lost their life while they were serving," she said.
Chavez said her grief has fueled her support for other families. She is a member of American Gold Star Mothers, a nonprofit organization of mothers who have lost sons and daughters in the armed forces.
"Monday has been a day of support for other mothers that I know personally. Lost sons and daughters in service to reaching out to them, saying, 'Hey, I'm thinking about you. I know a little bit about what you're going through and remembering that freedom isn't free,'" she said.
Chavez has two other sons currently serving in the military, one in the Navy and one in the Army. She said she views her role as a mother as one of preparing her children to contribute to society.
"I feel like my job as a mother was to raise my children, to become assets to society. And I felt like that's what I did," she said.
She said her continued work in the community is a way to honor all three of her sons, especially Zachary.
"When our children take that oath to serve, and they pass away, ... they can no longer serve. And being part of a veteran's service organization, I feel like we are standing in that gap. I have a purpose to serve," Chavez said.
Download the ABC11 News app