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Memorial Day: Events across Southern California salute fallen veterans

Shauna Chuchian sits next to the grave of brother Leonard Stewart on Sunday at Los Angeles National Cemetery. Her brother died in Vietnam in 1968.

Shauna Chuchian sits next to the grave of brother Leonard Stewart on Sunday at Los Angeles National Cemetery. Her brother died in Vietnam in 1968.

(Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
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In parks, cemeteries and city streets across Southern California, dozens of events Monday will commemorate Memorial Day, which pays tribute to men and women who died while in military service.

Kicking off the day is the Walk for Warriors 5K race, which begins at 8 a.m. at the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs campus.

Starting at 9 a.m., radio host Dennis Prager will broadcast from the Battleship Iowa in San Pedro as part of the United States Military Appreciation Day events at the ship.

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Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez will celebrate Mass at Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Rowland Heights, one of 11 services at Catholic cemeteries stretching from Santa Barbara to Long Beach.

The Mass with Gomez includes a moment of silence and the playing of “Taps,” and white doves will be released during the service. Cardinal Roger M. Mahony, the former leader of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, will say Mass at Santa Clara Cemetery in Oxnard.

Canoga Park’s Memorial Day parade heads down Sherman Way starting at 10 a.m. and includes L.A. city Councilmen Mitch Englander and Bob Blumenfeld along with Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks).

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And ground will break at 10 a.m. for a new memorial wall in Long Beach’s Rosie the Riveter Park.

The Department of Veterans Affairs asks the nation to pause for about a minute at 3 p.m. local time for a moment of remembrance honoring men and women who died in military service.

The Times has compiled a database of California’s war dead that occurred in Iraq and Afghanistan. Readers can pay tribute to fallen service members and examine their biographies.

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For breaking news in California, follow @MattHjourno.

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