Southern California Salutes Service Men, Women On Memorial Day
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Memorial Day will be commemorated Monday with several Los Angeles County events, including a parade in Canoga Park and a ceremony aboard the USS Iowa.
The 26th annual Memorial Day Parade organized by the Canoga Park-West Hills Chamber of Commerce began at 11 a.m. at Sherman Way and Owensmouth Avenue and head east on Sherman Way to Cozycroft Avenue.
More than 1,000 runners and walkers are expected to participate in the fifth annual Walk for Warriors at the West Los Angeles VA Campus in Brentwood. The 5-kilometer walk raises funds to help Los Angeles County's homeless veterans, those at risk of homelessness, and their families.
What was billed as the Southland's largest annual Memorial Day observance was held at Green Hills Memorial Park in Rancho Palos Verdes. The keynote speaker was Kimberly Mitchell, the president and co-founder of the Easter Seals Dixon Center for Military and Veterans Services, which has 74 affiliates and 550 service sites throughout the nation providing support and assistance for veterans throughout the nation.
A half-scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was on display. The observance also included aerial flyovers; skydivers; a parade of colors by members of the armed forces; musical performances; a wreath-laying and 21 gun salute; and the release of 100 doves.
Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier began its 95th annual Memorial Day Observance at 11 a.m. The observance will feature a performance by the 40th Infantry Division Band and a keynote address by Brig. Gen. Emory J. Hagan III, the commanding general of the California State Military Reserve.
It will also include a vintage plane flyover, a military vehicle display, a remembrance tree and children's activities.
Memorial Day remembrances are also planned for the Forest Lawn memorial parks in the Covina Hills, Glendale, Hollywood Hills and Long Beach.
A Memorial Day ceremony aboard the Battleship Iowa, docked in the Port of Los Angeles, begins at 1 p.m. Following the ceremony, Bernie Kopell will share stories from his naval and acting careers. Kopell was stationed aboard the USS Iowa during his active duty naval service from 1957-59.
Live performances of "Veteranos: A Legacy of Valor," a theatrical tribute to the Latinos who have fought and died for the U.S., will be presented at 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. at Plaza de la Raza in Lincoln Heights. A question-and-answer session will follow.
Net proceeds will benefit the Eugene A. Obregon Memorial Foundation, a nonprofit organization raising funds to complete the Medal of Honor monument at Father Serra Park in downtown Los Angeles.
Obregon was a Los Angeles native who enlisted in the Marine Corps when he was 17 and was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for sacrificing his life to save that of a wounded comrade during the Korean War.
Memorial Day at the Los Angeles Dodgers-Atlanta Braves game at Dodger Stadium will be marked by a flyover of three vintage military aircraft from the Palm Springs Air Museum and a U.S. Army color guard presenting the colors.
The ceremonial first pitch will be thrown by five members from each of the five branches of the military. Robert Friend, a member of the famed all-black World War II Army Air Corps unit the Tuskegee Airmen, will officially start the game by declaring, "It's time for Dodger baseball."
The Dodgers will wear uniforms with the team name in camouflage and their caps will have camouflage bills. All the net proceeds from sale of the jerseys and caps will be donated to the Welcome Back Veterans program, which provides grants to university hospitals throughout the nation to treat veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.
"As Angelenos take a break and spend time with family, I hope they also take a moment to remember those brave men and women who wore our nation's uniform and put themselves in harm's way to defend our freedoms," Mayor Eric Garcetti said.
What became Memorial Day was first observed on May 30, 1868, as Decoration Day, a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the Civil War dead with flowers.
It was established 25 days earlier by Maj. Gen. John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of veterans who fought for the Union in the Civil War. It is believed that date was chosen because flowers would be in bloom all over the nation.
By the end of the 19th century, Decoration Day ceremonies were being held on May 30 throughout the nation. After World War I, the holiday was changed to honor Americans who died fighting in all wars.
The term Memorial Day was first used in 1882 and became more common after World War II and declared the official name by federal law in 1967.
Memorial Day had been observed on May 30, until being moved to the last Monday in May in 1971 under terms of the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which became law in 1968.
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