LOS ANGELES -- Ceremonies and remembrances will be held across the Southland Monday as residents observe Memorial Day to honor the nation's war dead.
The Los Angeles National Cemetery will host its 120th annual Memorial Day Program under the theme, "Letters from the Front."
Actors Robert Davi, Robert Forster and Lee Purcell will read letters written by service personnel during conflicts salute and a keynote address by Air Force Maj. Gen. James Comstock.
In Rancho Palos Verdes, U.S. Air Force Secretary Michael Donley is expected to deliver the keynote address at the 24th annual Memorial Day observance at Green Hills Memorial Park.
The event will include a flyover by F-16 fighters and Black Hawk helicopters.
Sheriff Lee Baca will be the keynote speaker at Woodlawn Cemetery's 71st annual Memorial Day observance in Santa Monica.
The program will also include a flyover by U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopters, a dove release and 21-gun rifle salute.
Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, D-Los Angeles, Assemblyman John Perez, D-Los Angeles, Councilman Jose Huizar and Vietnam veteran Danny Hernandez are among those scheduled to speak as part of a 24-hour honor guard vigil at the Mexican-American All Wars Memorial in East Los Angeles.
Forest Lawn Memorial Parks will hold observances at its cemeteries in Glendale, Covina, Long Beach and Hollywood Hills.
The Glendale ceremony will include a Civil War reenactment and a reading of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address by actor William Peck.
Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, was officially proclaimed on May 5, 1868 by Gen. John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, a veterans organization.
It was first observed on May 30, 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery.
After World War I, the holiday was changed to honor Americans who died fighting in all wars.
LA COUNTY EVENTS:
9:30 a.m. GLENDALE - Glendale's annual Memorial Day ceremony, sponsored by the Glendale Chamber of Commerce's Citizenship and Patriotism Committee, will be held in front of the Glendale Veterans Memorial. Lt. Col. Raffi Najarian of the California Air National Guard will be the guest speaker. Corner of Isabel Street and East Broadway.
10 a.m. BOYLE HEIGHTS - A 24-hour honor guard vigil will end with a ceremony at the Mexican-American All Wars Memorial at Cinco Puntos. Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, D-Los Angeles, Assemblyman John Perez, D-Los Angeles, Councilman Jose Huizar and Vietnam veteran Danny Hernandez are scheduled to speak. Former Los Angeles Times reporter and Vietnam veteran George Ramos will emcee. 3300 E. Cesar Chavez Ave.
10 a.m. RANCHO PALOS VERDES - Green Hills Memorial Park will host its 24th annual Memorial Day observance. Air Force Secretary Michael Donley will deliver the keynote address. The program will include the release of 100 doves and 1,500 balloons, including 250 yellow balloons symbolizing the return of troops from war and 250 black balloons representing American POWs and MIAs; a fly-over by F-16 fighters and Black Hawk helicopters; National Guard display of Humvees; performances by the 21st Century and Force skydiving teams; and a parade of colors presented by all branches of the armed forces, as well as veterans' groups. Expected guests include Assemblyman Ted Lieu, D-El Segundo, Rep. Jane Harman, D-Venice, former Rep. Steve Kuykendall and Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Hungtington Beach. 27501 S. Western Ave.
10:30 a.m. LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles National Cemetery will host its 120th annual Memorial Day program themed ``Letters From the Front." The program includes fly-overs by AT6 planes from the Condor Squadron; an Air Force rifle salute; music by the 300th Army Band; and a reading of letters written by military men and women while in combat from the Civil War to the present, read by actors Robert Davi, Robert Forster, Lee Purcell and writer David Horowitz. Air Force Maj. Gen. James Comstock will deliver keynote remarks. Program begins at 10:30 a.m.; fly-over at 11:30 a.m. The cemetery opens at 8 a.m., when Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts will place flags over 85,000 graves. 950 S. Sepulveda Blvd.
11 a.m. SYLMAR - Los Angeles City Councilman Richard Alarcon and Assemblyman Cameron Smyth, R-Santa Clarita, will attend the eighth annual Memorial Day ceremony honoring local volunteers, including firefighters who helped extinguish the Sayre Fire. San Fernando Pioneer Memorial Cemetery, 14451 Bledsoe St.
11 a.m. SANTA MONICA - Sheriff Lee Baca will deliver the keynote speech at Woodlawn Cemetery's 71st annual Memorial Day observance. The program includes patriotic music performed by a local school choir and high school marching band, a flyover by U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopters, dove release and 21-gun rifle salute. 1847 14th St. 7.
11 a.m. CANOGA PARK - The Canoga Park/West Hills Chamber of Commerce will present the 21st annual ``Remembering the Past'' Canoga Park Memorial Day Parade. Participants include the Bob Hope Hollywood USO at LAX, an aerial salute by WWII bomber ``Heavenly Body," Fueled by the Fallen, U.S. Mounted Marines, the New Buffalo Soldiers, and the Wells Fargo Stagecoach. Parade begins at Owensmouth Avenue and Sherman Way.
++Noon REDONDO BEACH - The annual Redondo Beach Memorial Day Ceremony will be held. Veterans Park Band Shell, next to Redondo Beach Pier, Catalina and Torrance Boulevard.
1 p.m. GLENDALE - Forest Lawn will present a Memorial Day celebration. The program features a Civil War reenactment, a reading of the Gettysburg Address by actor William Peck, keynote speakers, patriotic music, a presidential proclamation, wreath laying, color guards, rifle salute and a memorial march. 1712 S. Glendale Ave. Forest Lawn's other locations will commemorate Memorial Day beginning at 10 a.m.: Covina Hills, 21300 Via Verde Charter Oak; Hollywood Hills, 6300 Forest Lawn Drive; and Long Beach, 1500 San Antonio Blvd.
ORANGE COUNTY EVENTS:
8:30 a.m. MISSION VIEJO - Chris Yates, director of the ``American Heroes Tribute,'' will be the keynote speaker at the city's Memorial Day celebration. The American Heroes Tribute banner, which honors Mission Viejo residents who lost their lives serving in the military, will be displayed. Colors will be presented by a Boy Scout color guard, and a rifle salute will be given by VFW members. Veterans Memorial Plaza, Norman P. Murray Community and Senior Center, 24932 Veterans Way.
10 a.m. FULLERTON - Fullerton's 71st annual Memorial Day observance, billed as the oldest continual Memorial Day observation in north Orange County, will be held. Brig. Gen. Eric W. Crabtree, the event's special guest speaker, will arrive at the cemetery aboard an Orange County Sheriff's Department helicopter. Former Fullerton Mayor A.B. ``Buck'' Catlin, a retired Navy submarine commander, will be the master of ceremonies. Loma Vista Memorial Park, 701 E. Bastanchury Road.
11 a.m. HUNTINGTON BEACH - The city's Memorial Day ceremony will include a rifle salute and performances by bagpipers and the Huntington Beach High School band. Pier Plaza, 415 Pacific Coast Highway.
11 a.m. SEAL BEACH - The U.S. Submarine Veterans of WWII and U.S. Submarine Veterans Inc. will hold a Memorial Day service. At the U.S. Submarine Veterans Memorial West, Main Gate, U.S. Navel Weapons Station. Seal Beach Boulevard between the San Diego (405) Freeway and Pacific Coast Highway.
2 p.m. YORBA LINDA - The Placentia Symphonic Band will give a patriotic concert in the East Room of the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum. 18001 Yorba Linda Blvd.
RIVERSIDE COUNTY:
8 a.m. LA QUINTA - Sen. John J. Benoit, R-Bermuda Dunes, will speak at a flag ceremony. Hadley Villas Senior Community Center, 78875 Avenue 47.
9 a.m. PERRIS - A Memorial Day ceremony will be held. Perris Valley Cemetery, 915 N. Perris Boulevard.
9 a.m. RIVERSIDE - Thousands of motorcyclists are expected to take part in the 10th annual ``West Coast Thunder'' Memorial Day tribute. Riders with American flags and other patriotic emblems attached to their motorcycles will pair up and ride from the Skip Fordyce Harley-Davidson dealership, 7688 Indiana Ave., and proceed 12 miles to the Riverside National Cemetery, 22495 Van Buren Blvd. A flag ceremony will be held, and the motorcyclists will then proceed to downtown Riverside for a music show and barbecue on Orange Street, between 9th and 10th streets.
10:30 a.m. CATHEDRAL CITY - A Memorial Day program will be held with Sen. John J. Benoit, R-Bermuda Dunes, and Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet, who will lead the Pledge of Allegiance. Forest Lawn-Cathedral City, 69855 Ramon Road.
10:30 a.m. LAKE ELSINORE - The Elsinore Valley Cemetery District will hold a Memorial Day service, featuring a parachutist, who will land at the cemetery, live music and a flyover by an L-29 Delfin aircraft. Cemetery, 18170 Collier Ave.
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