Thousands Salute War Dead, Jam Beaches on Warm Holiday : Memorial Day: Canoga Park parade attracts 50,000. Services at a number of cemeteries pay tribute to those who died serving country in military conflicts.

Thousands gathered throughout Southern California to honor the fallen of past wars Monday, while thousands more inched their way along car-choked streets on their way to beaches up and down the coast.

On a Memorial Day holiday that featured warm temperatures and brilliant sunshine, parks filled and Frisbees flew, while an estimated 50,000 people turned out for the annual Memorial Day Parade in Canoga Park.

Veterans young and old marched in the parade, which featured the Los Angeles Police Department motorcycle team and the black cavalry troop known as the Buffalo Soldiers.

At Van Nuys Airport, three of the last remaining planes flown in World War II touched down on the Tarmac.

“This is history flying here before us,” said Bruce Murray of Newhall as he watched the planes land.

There were also more somber gatherings throughout the Southland to honor those who lost their lives in the service of their country. At Valhalla Memorial Park in North Hollywood, about 250 people witnessed the laying of a wreath and a rifle salute to those who died.

“We here know more than anyone that freedom is not free,” James Tolan, a retired naval officer, told the crowd.

“Sometimes politicians forget people who served their country,” said Leland Newbury, 64, of North Hollywood. “Sometimes they forget certain wars. The only ones who take it seriously are those who served in them.”

At Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Cypress, Robert D. (Bud) Salisbury, 48, recalled those he had seen die in the Vietnam War and how he had himself suffered shrapnel wounds “from the top of my head to the tip of my ankle.

“Memorial Day, to me, when I was younger, didn’t have a lot of meaning,” said Salisbury, past state commander of Disabled American Veterans and keynote speaker at the holiday ceremonies. “When I came back from Vietnam, it had more. And with every year, it seems to increase in significance.”

Though Monday was largely a day of remembrance, there were also huge crowds sunning themselves on beaches after what has been, until this weekend, an unusually chilly May.

By early afternoon, an estimated 60,000 people had already jammed the beach at Santa Monica and more than 100,000 were expected by day’s end. More than 220,000 flocked to Orange County’s beaches.

“The sun came out around 10:30 this morning and it was a beautiful sight,” said Duncan McCulloch, a lifeguard supervisor at Bolsa Chica State Beach. “Shortly after that, I saw a trail of cars coming into the parking lot.”