CITYWIDE Today is more than a day off of work or the beginning of the fashion season in which people could start wearing white again.
Millions of people across the country will make a solemn trip to their local cemetery, placing flowers on graves, wiping away tears, and remembering those who have given their lives in the many wars fought by this country.
“It’s a day to remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice through the various wars,” said Commander Ernest Cowell, the chairman of the Los Angeles National Cemetery Support Committee. “It’s to remember the ultimate gift to the nation throughout the history of this country and to remember those who served in all capacities.”
Cowell fought in World War II, the Korean War and then the Vietnam War.
The Los Angeles National Cemetery, located near UCLA on Sepulveda Boulevard, will hold its annual Memorial Day ceremony starting at 10:30 a.m., where Capt. James Sommer of the United States Coast Guard will serve as the master of ceremonies.
Lt. General Michael A. Hamel, the commander of the Space and Missiles Center, will present the keynote address, alongside a musical tribute by the 300th Army Band and salute by the Joint Services Colorguard. The ceremony will also include a canon round, rifle salute and a flyover.
More than 2,500 people attended the ceremony last year, including Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
A smaller scale service will be held at Santa Monica’s Woodlawn Cemetery, sponsored by the city of Santa Monica, starting at 11 a.m.
The highlight of the ceremony is expected to be the keynote address by Lt. Colin Browning, who served two tours of duty in Iraq, said Virgil County, the cemetery administrator.
Browning is expected to speak about an experience when he took a photo with a platoon sergeant during a coffee break in the middle of the desert. A few days after the photo was taken, the platoon sergeant was killed.
One of the added events this year will be a joint performance by the choirs at Lincoln and John Adams middle schools, an attempt by the city to reach out to the community and involve the youth more in Memorial Day activities.
The service will also pay respects to Santa Monica Police Officer Ricardo A. Crocker, a decorated soldier who was killed in action on May 26, 2005, during his second tour of duty in Iraq.
“Whether or not we agree with the war, we do feel for the soldiers who lose their lives as well as those who get hurt,” County said.
Along the beach just north of the Santa Monica Pier, the Arlington West memorial will stay up through Memorial Day. A project of Veterans for Peace, the memorial, consisting of thousands of crosses, was set up on Saturday and is expected to stay put through this evening.
The Arlington West memorial is erected every weekend.
The memorial includes a combination of 2,700 red and white wooden crosses. Each red cross represents 10 American lives lost in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Every week, there are more and more red crosses replacing their white counterparts, said Clay Claiborne, the Arlington West coordinator.
A ceremony is not planned for Memorial Day, but a coffin procession honoring the lives lost during the week will take place as it has on both Saturday and Sunday. The procession usually starts at the Arlington West memorial, heading north up Ocean Avenue and stopping in Palisades Park at the war memorial.
Alongside the Arlington West memorial in the beach parking lot will be a race car featuring the names of all the Marines who have died in the current wars. The car drove into town on Saturday from Twentynine Palms, which is home to the Marines training grounds.
“I imagine a lot of these guys are Nascar fans,” said Ed Ellis, president of the Los Angeles chapter of Veterans for Peace. “It meant so much to them to go up and touch the names. There were just a lot of tears.”
The Los Angeles National Cemetery is located at 950 S. Sepulveda Blvd. in Los Angeles. Woodlawn Cemetery is located at 1847 14th St. in Santa Monica.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 28, 2007. Read the original PDF.