GULFPORT — A small group gathered at Evergreen Cemetery on Friday to remember three women who died during Hurricane Camille but were never identified.
The Sun Herald reports that flowers were placed on the graves of the women known only as Faith, Hope and Charity, whose bodies weren’t claimed after the August 1969 storm.
“It started out like what it is now — sunny conditions — but the weather quickly changed,” Rupert Lacy, emergency management director for Harrison County, said of the day Camille struck. “After it was all said and done, there were three lost souls that were never claimed.”
The memorial was one of several held on the Mississippi Coast to mark the 43rd anniversary of the storm.
Officials in Pass Christian laid a wreath at War Memorial Park, and the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer held a ceremony Friday evening in which the names of the missing and dead were read.
Camille wiped out much of the Mississippi Coast and did significant damage in neighboring Louisiana.
Lacy said it’s important to remember those who lost their lives during the storm.
“It does show us we’re in a precarious position — if we don’t heed the warnings, we can lose our lives,” he said.
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