Holiday a Time to Never Forget

Just shy of 2 years old, Grace Carey toddled in a pink jumpsuit and green sunglasses Monday morning on the soft grass covering the grave of an Army private who served in World War II.

A few feet away, where she tripped and slowly pulled herself upright, were small, matching headstones for Arlie B. Livesay, an Army veteran of World War I, and his wife, Blanche.

“We think it’s important to take a day to remember,” said Grace’s mom, Karrie Carey. “We’ve decided to make it a tradition for our kids so they can learn about history.”

When Grace is older, Karrie and her husband, Craig, will tell her stories about relatives who served in various wars. The Ventura couple also will talk about Grace’s first trip to Ivy Lawn Memorial Park.

The Careys were among several hundred people, many of them families with little ones, who came to the Ventura cemetery off Valentine Road to attend a service honoring those who died in battle.

Several thousand people attended other Memorial Day events in Oxnard, Santa Paula and Camarillo.

At Valley Oaks Memorial Park in Westlake Village, where the county’s largest ceremony is held each holiday, World War II planes flew overhead and the Air National Guard Band of the Southwest performed.

At Ivy Lawn, the narrow, winding lanes were lined with 900 large American flags that ruffled in the breeze. Each flag once covered the casket of a veteran, Terri Taylor Gonzalez, Ivy Lawn’s manager, told the crowd.

As a procession of veterans, including Pearl Harbor survivor John Ferjo, took turns laying colorful wreaths between two flaming torches, Ventura resident Elizabeth Rose and her husband, Ron, slowly strolled the grounds with son Robert, 2.

“Coming out here is just a nice thing to do to remember the sacrifices people have made in the name of freedom,” Elizabeth said.

With their son’s kid-sized garden gloves and trowel in hand, they planned to tend the grave sites of Ron’s grandparents after the ceremony.

While a series of speakers stressed the importance of remembering the dead, some noted that so many of the veterans were scarcely older than children themselves.

“I was 17 years old when I joined the Navy, and I was 17 years old when I was tortured,” said Raymond Orozco, a Korean War veteran and former prisoner of war.

Orozco received a standing ovation after delivering a chilling tale about his capture by North Koreans after his ship sank. Today, he said, he can’t watch war movies or fireworks displays.

“I still have nightmares,” he said.

Keynote speaker Carol Ellinger, whose Marine husband, Franklin, was killed during a second tour of duty in Vietnam, asked people to honor and remember both the dead and the living.

The Port Hueneme teacher talked about Gold Star Wives of America, a 56-year-old group for widows of men who died on active duty or from service-related injuries. “I’m happy that our membership is getting smaller,” she said.

The day was filled with history lessons that Karen Ryan wanted daughter Chenin, 8, to hear. She said she has taken Chenin to Pearl Harbor and twice to China in an effort to make history come alive.

“Don’t they say that those who don’t learn from the past are condemned to repeat it,” said Ryan, clutching her daughter’s hand. As they looked at headstones, she explained to her daughter the history of the “missing man” formation of planes that whizzed by overheard.

“I told her that the purpose is to symbolize the one who doesn’t get to come home,” she said.