By WMBD-TV

BLOOMINGTON – More than 400 star ornaments were placed on Christmas trees during a ceremony honoring Gold Star families and their loved ones who made the ultimate sacrifice.

Hundreds attended the 9th annual Fallen Heroes Tree of Honor ceremony at Central Illinois Regional Airport, where Gold Star Families were recognized and loved ones’ stories were read aloud.

Two nine-foot Christmas trees were lit and filled with ornaments with help from community members. Each ornament represents a fallen hero with their name, rank, branch, home state, date of birth and date of death.

“It continues to grow every year. And it really makes me feel good as well as the Gold Star families that we just have the community that continues to surround us and support us and help us to remember,” said Frances Maddox, chair of Fallen Heroes Tree of Honor.

Maddox’s son, Sgt. Anthony Maddox, was killed in 2013 while serving in Afghanistan. Since then, she has been heavily involved with Gold Star Families Inc. They received 75 ornament requests for the Fallen Heroes Tree of Honor just this year alone.

She said it’s important to keep our hero’s names and stories alive, so they are never forgotten.

“We actually have a saying that when our hero takes their last breath, that’s their first death. The second one is when we forget to speak their name and to remember them. And so that’s why this event is so important is because we can provide that honor for those fallen heroes. But for the Gold Star families that are present, we can continue to provide them hope and healing, especially during the holiday seasons, because they have an empty seat at the table,” she said.

There will be a Tree of Honor ceremony at 10 a.m. Saturday at Peoria Riverfront Museum.