Los Angeles National Cemetery to Host Annual Memorial Day Ceremony

VA Undersecretary of Memorial Affairs to give Keynote Address

Join us in remembering and honoring the sacrifice of our nation's heroes at the Los Angeles National Cemetery's Annual Memorial Day Ceremony.

This event culminates a weekend of tributes honoring our fallen Veterans, including a flag placement ceremony, a flower placement ceremony, and a Roll Call of Honor. In addition to ceremony remarks by federal, state and local officials, more than 30 Consulates are participating in the first "Wreaths of Peace, Honor, and Rememberance" in partnership with the Los Angeles Consular Corps, to honor all those that have served.

Monday, May 28th @ 10:00 a.m.

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs, Randy Reeves, will provide remarks. Mr. Reeves will be joined By U.S. Congressman Ted Lieu, and Secretary of California Veterans Affairs, Dr. Vito Imbasciani, as well as local vocalists and musicians.

950 South Sepulveda, Los Angeles, CA 9004

Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it commemorates U.S. Service Members who died while on active duty. First enacted to honor Union and Confederate soldiers following the American Civil War, it was extended after World War I to honor Americans who have died in all wars.

Historical Information:

The Los Angeles National Cemetery, located across from what is now the VA Greater Los Angeles Health Care System, has grown to more than 114 acres since its late 19th century origins. The first interment dates to a few days prior to the May 22, 1889 dedication of the cemetery. In 1973, the cemetery was transferred from the then-Veterans Administration Medical Center to what was then the National Cemetery System.

The Los Angeles National Cemetery opened as one of 11 facilities operated by the Veterans Administration, on lands shared with national veterans' homes or asylums for disabled soldiers. The Pacific Branch of the National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers was established in 1887 on Santa Monica ranch lands donated by Senator John P. Jones and Arcadia B. de Baker. The following year, the site grew by an additional 200 acres; in 1890, 20 more acres were appended for use as a veterans' cemetery. By this time, with more than 1,000 veterans in residence, a new hospital was erected in 1900. It was replaced in 1927 by Wadsworth Hospital, and a second facility, Brentwood Hospital, was also constructed in the 1920s.

A granite obelisk erected in Memory of the Men Who Offered Their Lives in Defense of Their Country is situated in the San Juan Hill area of the cemetery. A monument to Civil War Soldiers was erected in 1942. A bronze soldier standing at parade rest is perched atop a boulder The United Spanish War Veterans monument, also known as the Spirit of '98, is a bright white marble composition of three figures completed in 1950 by sculptor Roger Noble Burnham. The memorial crumbled after a 1971 earthquake. In 1973, sculptor David Wilkens re-created the monument out of concrete and plaster, reinforcing it with rebar. The plaque from the original sculpture survived and was imbedded on the new sculpture.

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