Communities across Orange County are planning to pause Monday to pay tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.
Here is information on many of the Memorial Day ceremonies planned to remember those who died in combat, as well as those who served. Events are on Monday unless otherwise noted.
Anaheim: There will be speakers, a rifle volley salute, color guard and a presentation of wreaths at 11 a.m. at the Anaheim Cemetery, 1400 E. Sycamore St. The ceremony will be held in front of the community mausoleum. Information: occemeterydistrict.com
Anaheim Hills: Eucalyptus Park will feature Flags of Honor over the holiday weekend in honor of those who serve and have sacrificed. More than 250 flags will be on display through May 31, the display is organized by the Anaheim Hills Rotary Club. Information: Anaheimhillsrotary.org
Brea: More than 1,100 American flags are displayed each year in an Avenue of the Flags at Memory Garden Memorial Park & Mortuary, 455 W. Central Ave. The grave of each veteran in the park will be also decorated with a white cross and miniature flag. The Avenue of the Flags, open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., was started in 1958 with six flags. Information: memorygarden.com
Buena Park: This 41st annual event honors men and women who have served our country as well as the families who have lost loved ones or have members serving. There will be a service beginning at 10 a.m. at the Elhers Event Center, 8150 Knott Ave. Information: buenapark.com
Corona del Mar: There will be a remembrance service beginning at 11 a.m. at the Pacific View Memorial Park & Mortuary, 3500 Pacific View Drive.
Costa Mesa: This ceremony, now in its 67th year, will honor the fallen at 11 a.m. at Harbor Lawn-Mt. Olive Memorial Park & Mortuary, 1625 Gisler Ave., and is set to include an aerial flyover, musical presentations and a wreath laying ceremony. Information: fcocmemorialday.com
Dana Point: VFW Post 9934 and the city will host a ceremony at 10 a.m. in Pines Park, 34941 Camino Capistrano that will include the special presentation of the Marine Corps’ traditional Empty Boots Ceremony. Information: danapoint.org
Fountain Valley: The West Orange County Veterans of Foreign Wars Post and Auxiliary No. 9557, comprising posts from Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach, Westminster and Midway City, will host with the city a commemoration at 10 a.m. at the Veterans Memorial, 17635 Los Alamos St. View the ceremony online at Facebook.com/fvrecreation.
Veterans of various military branches and foreign conflicts salute during the “National Anthem” during a Memorial Day ceremony in Dana Point’s Pines Park on Monday, May 31, 2021. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Contributing Photographer)
Fullerton: In its 84th year, the community’s Memorial Day observance starts at 10 a.m. at Loma Vista Memorial Park, 701 E. Bastanchury Road. In a tradition started in 1939, volunteers will place a cross and a flag at the graves of more than 4,400 veterans leading up to the ceremony, which will feature speaker Brigadier General David G. Smith of the California State Guard, as well as patriotic music, recognition of a veteran from each century and POWs and more. This is a return to the full ceremony after abbreviated events the last two years of the pandemic. Information: avmafullerton.org
Huntington Beach: An 11 a.m. ceremony, hosted by the city along with American Legion Post 133, will feature a rifle salute, a wreath presentation, speakers and musical performances at Pier Plaza. Information: 714-536-3855
Irvine: The city’s annual ceremony is 10 a.m. at Col. Bill Barber Marine Corps Memorial Park, 4 Civic Center Plaza. Write a brief remembrance to be posted on a memory board or write a card to be sent to the city’s adopted 211/Marine Battalion. Information: 949-724-6606 or cityofirvine.org/specialevents
Also, on Sunday, May 29, there will be a candle-lighting ceremony held at 4 p.m. at the Northwood Gratitude and Honor Memorial at Northwood Community Park. Guest speakers will be Jim and Carla Hogan, the Gold Star parents of Lance Cpl. Donald J. Hogan, who was killed while on deployment to Afghanistan. The park is at 4531 Bryan Ave.
Laguna Beach: A community ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. in Heisler Park, 375 Cliff Drive, to pay tribute to all military personnel who have died in wars and conflicts. A musical presentation will start at 10:30 a.m. Also, at Main Beach, the Laguna Community Concert Band will perform a free concert from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Laguna Hills: The city will host its annual Memorial Day Half Marathon. The event includes the half marathon, a 5K run/walk, a 10K run and a kids run. The city will donate $3 per participant to Team Darkhorse, the city’s 3/5 Marine Support Committee. Participants are asked to bring a non-perishable food item to contribute to the South County Outreach Food Drive. Information: lagunahillshalfmarathon.com
Lake Forest: The El Toro Memorial Park tribute will include a keynote speech by Vietnam veteran Bill Ring, along with a color guard flag ceremony, a wreath presentation, musical performances and a gun salute, beginning at 11 a.m. in the old section near the rear of the park at 25751 Trabuco Road. Information: occemeterydistrict.com.
Laguna Niguel: At noon, Sea Country Senior and Community Center will hold a ceremony that includes a color guard, dignitaries, veteran’s speech and placing of the wreath at memorial plaque outside the center, located at 24602 Aliso Creek Road.
La Palma: The city’s ceremony starts at 9 a.m. at the Eternal Flame in front of the Civic Center, 7822 Walker St. Walker will be closed from Thelma Avenue to La Palma Avenue from 8:45 a.m. until the ceremony is over.
Mission Viejo: The community observance will begin at 8:30 a.m. at the Kershaw Garden at Mission Viejo Civic Center, 200 Civic Center. The ceremony will include guest speakers and patriotic songs followed by a reception with light refreshments. Information: cityofmissionviejo.org
Newport Beach: Again this year, the Field of Honor is on display at Castaways Park, 700 Dover Drive. To honor those who have served, there are 1,776 large American flags flying in the park. They were installed on May 20. The display is up through Memorial Day. Information: nhexchange.net
Orange: There will be a Memorial Day Flag Display “paying tribute to those in the Armed Forces from the city of Orange who gave their lives in service to our country” out front of City Hall. The flag are up through May 30. There will be a ceremony at noon on Memorial Day.
San Clemente: At 11 a.m., an observance will be held outside the Community Center at Avenida Del Mar and Calle Seville. The public is invited. Information: san-clemente.org
Also, a ceremony at 2 p.m. at the Marine Monument at Park Semper Fi, 106 W. Alameda Lane, overlooking the pier, will feature a special honor for the troops killed at the Kabul Airport in Afghanistan on Aug. 26 with a plaque being installed and dedicated. The public is invited. Information: marinemonument.com
San Juan Capistrano: The Mission San Juan Capistrano and the nonprofit Homefront America are presenting the Field of Honor, with more than 400 seven-foot-tall, community-sponsored flags on display to honor active military, veterans and first responders. The flags will be up through Memorial Day. The mission will be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Memorial Day.
Frank Ybarra of Orange takes a selfie next to the Army display at the Memorial Day Weekend Drive-Through Tour at Fairhaven Memorial Park & Mortuary in Santa Ana on Sunday, May 30, 2021. The free tour open to the public featured a series of patriotic displays by R.W.B. Props Inc. celebrating the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Air Force and Space Force titled, “Home of the Free, Because of the Brave,” flags from the 50 states and a series of life size photo essays titled, “America’s Wars.”(Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Santa Ana: The annual service at Fairhaven Memorial Park will feature United States Army Chief Warrant Officer Tom Murphy and other patriotic speakers as well as the Blue Eagles Honor Guard, a total force honor guard comprised of personnel from Edwards AFB and March AFB, which will present the colors and performing a rifle salute. There will be patriotic performances, a wreath laying ceremony, a moment of silence and more. The memorial park will be decorated with flags and a display of military history. The ceremony begins at 10:30 a.m. at 1702 E. Fairhaven Ave. Information: 714-633-1442 or fairhavenmemorial.com
Also, the Tri-City Memorial Day Observance at 10 a.m. at the Santa Ana Cemetery, 1919 E. Santa Clara Ave. will include speakers, a parade of flags, cannon and honor rifle salutes, wreath presentations and more. The ceremony will be at the Soldiers’ Monument To the Unknown Dead of the Civil War, a community tradition since 1881. Information: occemeterydistrict.com
Seal Beach: The Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach will return for the first time in three years with its Memorial Day ceremony at 11 a.m. at its United States National Submarine Memorial West. There will be a “tolling the boats” ceremony to remember the 52 American submarines lost during World War II. Joe Koch, who was part of the USS Tusk submarine crew, will talk. The memorial is at 800 Seal Beach Blvd., and open to the public.
Westminster: Westminster Memorial Park, 14801 Beach Blvd., will hold a Memorial Day service starting at 11 a.m. with military speakers, wreath laying, musical entertainment and a flyover.
Yorba Linda: The Nixon Presidential Library & Museum’s events begin at 10:30 a.m. with a presentation of colors and a wreath laying at the memorials of President Richard Nixon and Pat Nixon. At 11 a.m. the Huntington Beach Concert Band will perform in the library’s replica of the White House East Room. The library is at 18001 Yorba Linda Blvd. The events are free to the public, but museum admission is needed for touring galleries and exhibits. Information: 714-993-5075
Also, at the Yorba Linda Veterans Memorial, the annual Memorial Day observance will be held at 2 p.m. The memorial is in Veterans Park, 4756 Valley View Ave. Veteran Sgt. Enoch “Mac” McClain will be the keynote speaker. He is the president of a volunteer honor detail of retired and veteran Marines at Riverside National Cemetery. Esperanza HS Air Force Junior ROTC will present the colors. Information: yorbalindaveteransmemorial.com
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