While for some, Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of summer, the true meaning of the holiday resonates deeper for those with ties to the military.
In a town like San Diego, home to more than a half-dozen military bases, Memorial Day is a day to honor the military service members who died while serving their country. The moment the first sunbeams hit San Diego Monday, locals will be paying tribute.
Memorial Day Events in San Diego:
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- Fort Rosecrans Memorial Day Ceremony
- May 29, 2023, 10 a.m. to noon
- Point Loma Peninsula
- Free
At Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in Point Loma, San Diego leaders and military veterans will lay down 11 wreaths just as the sun comes up Monday. The event organized by the Truman National Security Project has been held at sunrise on Memorial Day since 2015. Each year, volunteers lay thousands of roses on the graves at the federal military cemetery in honor of the fallen.
- Mount Soledad's Memorial Day Ceremony
- May 29, 2023, 11 a.m. to noon
- Mount Soledad National Veterans Memorial
- Free
On Mount Soledad, an annual ceremony highlights the lives lost in duty, like Major Megan McClung, the first female Marine killed in the Iraq war in 2006. A plaque honoring her service is now hung along with hundreds of others on the memorial at Mount Soledad.
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"She was an extraordinary young woman. She died at 34. She was my hero. She was my hero," her mother, Re McClung, said at last year's ceremony.
The Camp Pendleton-based Marine came from a military family, both of her grandfathers and her father served in the armed forces.
McClung was a public affairs officer serving in Ramadi, Iraq. She was riding in a convoy escorting journalists when an improvised explosive device struck their vehicle.
McClung is buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia with her motto engraved on her tombstone: Be Bold. Be Brief. Be Gone.
- Legacy Week at the USS Midway Museum
- May 26 - 29, 2023
- Tickets required
For those who want to pay tribute to fallen service members, the USS Midway has organized a virtual Remembrance Wall, which puts faces to the stark number of service members who have died in service since World War I -- 645,000, according to the museum. People who have lost a loved one can submit their own photo to the Remembrance Wall here.
The annual blood drive will take place and a Memorial Day Wreath Ceremony will also be held to honor fallen heroes celebrate San Diego's military heritage.
- Memorial Day at Lake Jennings
- May 29, 2023, 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- All motorboat rentals will be $5 off
- Lake Jennings in Lakeside
Lakeside invites boaters to come on down to Lake Jennings for boating and day-use in observance of Memorial Day.
The nation will collectively take a pause at 3 p.m. PDT. The National Moment of Remembrance asks Americans to observe a moment of silence to honor the fallen.
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