Operation We Remember event at USS Alabama park to spotlight veteran mental health

The Miss Mobile Bay Organization will host a free Operation We Remember event focused on veteran mental health and suicide awareness Nov. 7 at USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park, with music, speakers and a candlelight vigil.

By James Bullard

October 28, 2026 · 9:43 am Updated October 30, 2026 3 min read

Candles glow during an evening vigil.

MOBILE, Ala. — A Mobile nonprofit will put veteran mental health in the spotlight next month with a free evening of music, remembrance and support at USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park.

The Miss Mobile Bay Organization will host an Operation We Remember event at the park’s pavilion on Saturday, Nov. 7, beginning at 7 p.m. The event is open to the public at no cost.

Music, speakers and a candlelight vigil

The program will include live music from Bri Burrell, who was crowned Miss Alabama 2023, and Larry Andrews, executive director of the Miss Mobile Bay Organization and a local vocalist. The Mobile’s Singing Children group is also scheduled to appear, according to organizers.

During the evening, attendees will be invited to take part in a candlelight vigil honoring friends and family members who served in the military and died by suicide.

Chaplains will be available throughout the event to offer support and prayer. Speakers will include retired Rear Admiral Kent Davis, founder of Operation We Remember and a former commissioner of the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs, and Kent Venable, board chair of Operation Iron Ruck.

“They are not alone”

Andrews said the event is meant both to honor those who have been lost and to reach veterans who may be struggling now.

“Operation We Remember is about honoring their legacy, but it is also about making sure the veterans who are with us today know that they are not alone,” Andrews said. “We have a responsibility to remember those we have lost while doing everything we can to help prevent the next loss.”

What Operation We Remember is

Operation We Remember is an annual statewide suicide awareness campaign. Its goals are to break down the stigma around mental health struggles among former service members and to connect veterans with support resources, according to organizers.

Veteran suicide has been a long-standing concern for the military and veterans’ communities nationwide. Veterans can face added stress from combat experiences, injuries, the transition back to civilian life and the loss of the close-knit structure of military units. Advocates say stigma can keep some from seeking help, which is why campaigns like this one focus on encouraging open conversation.

The Mobile event is one part of the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs’ commitment to veteran well-being and suicide prevention. The ADVA works to build veteran communities across Alabama so that veterans can get the support they need, organizers said.

Sponsors and how to take part

The event is partially sponsored by the Strategic Alliance for Affiliated Store Owners of America in Spanish Fort, Tuscan Sun Tanning, the Miss Mobile Bay Organization and the South Alabama Veterans Council.

Groups or organizations that want to support the effort and set up a table at the event can contact Larry Andrews with the Miss Mobile Bay Organization.

Event details

What: Operation We Remember veteran mental health and suicide awareness event
When: Saturday, Nov. 7, at 7 p.m.
Where: Pavilion at USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park, Mobile
Cost: Free
Highlights: Live music, motivational speakers, chaplains and a candlelight vigil

The setting carries special meaning for a gathering focused on service members. The park on Mobile Bay is home to the battleship USS Alabama, which served in World War II and has been a memorial and museum in Mobile since the 1960s, along with the submarine USS Drum and a collection of military aircraft and vehicles.

Miss Mobile Bay preliminaries follow on Nov. 8

The next evening, Sunday, Nov. 8, the same pavilion will host the 2026-27 Miss Mobile Bay Organization preliminaries to Miss Alabama and Miss Alabama’s Teen. That event begins at 6 p.m., and admission is $20.

Local titleholders chosen through preliminary competitions go on to compete at the state level for Miss Alabama and Miss Alabama’s Teen. The Miss Alabama winner then represents the state at Miss America.

Where veterans can get help

Veterans in crisis, or people worried about a veteran, can reach the Veterans Crisis Line at any time by dialing 988 and pressing 1, by texting 838255 or by chatting online through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The service is free and confidential, and callers do not need to be enrolled in VA benefits or health care to use it.