SAN DIEGO — The USS Midway Museum held a Memorial Day ceremony to honor the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice.
The annual ceremony was held on the flight deck. It included a Missing Man Flyover and a Wreath Laying Ceremony. People of all ages were in the crowd.
This year's tribute gave special recognition to fallen military nurses who served in Vietnam. The keynote speaker, retired Lt. Col. Lynda Hilliard, was an Army nurse. She served in Vietnam and also deployed during the Gulf War.
"During 1969, the Vietnam War was raging halfway around the world and I started to feel the most tremendous need to serve my country," she told the audience.
She said she felt compelled to be a part of the healing force to bring our troops home wounded, but alive. She shared that she turned down a journalism scholarship to attend UCLA, and instead enrolled in a local nursing school. She paid tribute to the nine Army nurses and one Air Force nurse who died while serving our country during the Vietnam War.
Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery holds 124th annual ceremony
Monday marked the 124th consecutive Memorial Day service at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, the final resting place for more than 120,000 members of the armed forces.
Many people gathered for a ceremony and dedication in the morning to honor the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice. Attendees included gold star families and community members, as well as local leaders paying their respects.
The ceremony featured a reading of the Gettysburg Address, the playing of taps and a 21 gun salute.
Miramar National Cemetery honors D-Day anniversary
At 1 p.m., Miramar National Cemetery hosted a Memorial Day program remembering the 80th anniversary of D-Day. Several local WWII D-Day veterans attended.
Mt. Soledad National Veterans Memorial
A big crowd at Mt. Soledad National Veterans Memorial honored all of our fallen heroes.
This year's ceremony paid special tribute to a group of marines based at Camp Pendleton who served in Afghanistan: the unit known as Darkhorse. Their deployment became known as the deadliest of the war. Twenty five marines were killed in action, and 200 others were wounded.
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