LEGACY OF FREEDOM; MEMORIAL DAY A TIME TO REVERE.Byline: Dennis Love Daily News Staff Writer The somber ceremonies at the flag-festooned Los Angeles National Cemetery The Los Angeles National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery in West Los Angeles, at the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Sepulveda Boulevard. The cemetery was dedicated in 1889. in Westwood were repeated across Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, and the rest of the country Monday, as people gathered to remember America's war dead. A crowd of some 1,000 participated in the 108th annual Memorial Day observance at the National Cemetery, where a military band played patriotic anthems and speeches were heard from dignitaries such as Maj. Gen. William A. Cohen cohen or kohen (Hebrew: “priest”) Jewish priest descended from Zadok (a descendant of Aaron), priest at the First Temple of Jerusalem. The biblical priesthood was hereditary and male. of the U.S. Air Force Reserve. The 82,000 graves were decorated with miniature U.S. flags, which in the cool morning breeze formed a fluttering ocean of red, white and blue. ``It's nice to see that people still care, that they are willing to come out and remember the men and women who have died for our country,'' said Maureen Agnos, 72, of Culver City Culver City, city (1990 pop. 38,793), Los Angeles co., S Calif., a residential suburb of Los Angeles; inc. 1917. It is a center of the U.S. motion-picture industry, whose roots in the city date to c.1915. Its chief manufactures are rubber products and computers. , whose brother died at Anzio, Italy, in World War II. ``We must never forget them.'' From the Canoga Park Memorial Day Parade to the traditional services in North Hollywood, Burbank, Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. , Westlake Village, Santa Clarita Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, and Rancho Palos Verdes Rancho Pal·os Ver·des A city of southern California on a channel of the Pacific Ocean west of Long Beach. Population: 42,100. , salutes were snapped off, prayers were offered and stories told of heroic acts in faraway battles. ``When their country called them they did not hesitate to put their own lives at risk,'' Cohen told the sun-splashed gathering at the National Cemetery. ``They sacrificed their own hopes and dreams so that freedom would survive.'' At the end of the Westwood ceremony, a military helicopter lifted off to scatter flowers in the Pacific Ocean in memory of those killed in war. In Arlington, Va., President Clinton called for the current generation of Americans to ``redeem that sacrifice'' and help build a democratic Europe united in peace. The United States must build upon the legacy of the Marshall Plan Marshall Plan or European Recovery Program, project instituted at the Paris Economic Conference (July, 1947) to foster economic recovery in certain European countries after World War II. The Marshall Plan took form when U.S. by ``extending the reach of security and prosperity to the new democracies in Europe that once were on the other side in the Cold War,'' Clinton said at a Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery, 420 acres (170 hectares), N Va., across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C.; est. 1864. More than 60,000 American war dead, as well as notables including Presidents William Howard Taft and John F. Kennedy, Gen. John J. . In Simi Valley, Desert Storm veteran Ben Houtman wondered if the true significance of Memorial Day is lost on many people who might simply see the holiday as a three-day weekend. ``I wish more Americans would have that patriotic feeling every year,'' he said. ``It's not hard to fly the flag and remember.'' Members of the Condor Squadron flew over a number of the Memorial Day ceremonies, including one in Burbank at George Izay Park sponsored by the city of Burbank and the Veterans Commemorative Committee. The Van Nuys-based squadron is made up of single-engine airplanes used to train fighter pilots during World War II. Later the Burbank ceremonies were halted for 15 minutes while some of the people involved tried to help a dog that ran into the street and was fatally injured by a car. CAPTION(S): 3 Photos PHOTO (1 -- color) Cub Scout Daryl Crookston, 8, places flags on grave markers Monday at Eternal Valley Memorial Park in Newhall. Shaun Dyer/Special to the Daily News (2 -- color) Air Force Lt. Col. Rich Wise speaks at George Izay Park in Burbank. (3) The Condor Squadron soars in formation Monday over Izay Park. Terri Thuente/Daily News |
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