Fallen military personnel honored at local ceremonies on Memorial Day
Military men and women who died in service to their country were honored during three local Memorial Day events Monday, one in Glendale, another in La Crescenta and another in Montrose.
Retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Mark MacCarley spoke in front of the Memorial Wall at Two Strike Park in La Crescenta during a ceremony sponsored by American Legion Post 288 and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1614.
MacCarley gave a brief history of Memorial Day and spoke about his experience and the “overwhelming emotion” of presenting the American flag to grieving families while officiating funerals for fallen members of the Army.
“I want to say so much to that grieving spouse or child … This is our last war, that America will never send another young man or woman into harm’s way,” MacCarley said. “I know that that would be a lie because Memorial Day serves as a reminder to us that freedom is not free … It comes with the highest of cost.”
U.S. Air Force Maj. Frank Ragazzi, who lived in La Crescenta and died this past April, was also honored at the ceremony. Darren Azarian, vice commander of the American Legion Post 288, presented his stepdaughter Gayle Thompson with a U.S. flag.
Near the Veterans Memorial at Glendale City Hall, Mayor Vartan Gharpetian joined guests Assemblywoman Laura Friedman (D-Glendale) and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) for a Memorial Day celebration.
“Our service members … are quit literally risking their lives to protect ours here at home,” Schiff said. “So we think about them today. We think about them everyday, and we pay our respects for their continued brave service.”
The event’s keynote speaker was David Viar, superintendent/president of of Glendale Community College and a retired U.S. Army veteran. He asked those in attendance to close their eyes and visualize the memorials and vast cemeteries across the world that mark where deceased soldiers have been laid to rest.
“As we honor the memory of those who died for our country, I urge all of us to honor them by focusing on what it means to serve our country,” Viar said.
Also on Monday, a memorial ceremony for fallen members of the military was held at the Vietnam War Memorial at Oceanview Boulevard and Honolulu Avenue in Montrose.
Twitter: @JeffLanda
