Memorial Day Ceremony set for South Lake Tahoe

Submitted by paula on Mon, 05/06/2019 - 6:21pm
Event Date: 
May 27, 2019 - 11:00am

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - American Legion Post 795 of South Lake Tahoe invites residents and visitors to join members of the American Legion and the American Legion Auxiliary in remembering those who have died in service to our nation this Memorial Day. The ceremony will take place at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, May 27, 2019, at Happy Homestead Cemetery located at 1261 Johnson Boulevard in South Lake Tahoe.

After the ceremony, the public is invited to join Legion and Auxiliary members for refreshments at the American Legion Hall, 2748 Lake Tahoe Boulevard, also in South Lake Tahoe.

Memorial Day honors men and women who died while serving in the U.S. Military. Originally known as Decoration Day, Memorial Day originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971.

In addition to hosting the ceremony, Legion and Auxiliary members will be collecting donations for poppies, which have become a well-known symbol of Memorial Day, throughout Memorial Day weekend. Legion and Auxiliary members will be stationed at Safeway, Grocery Outlet and Kmart in South Lake Tahoe on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, May 24-27.

This distribution of the bright red memorial flower to the public is one of the oldest and most widely recognized programs of the American Legion Auxiliary. This memorial flower can be traced to a single individual, Miss Moina Michael. She was so moved by Colonel John McCrae’s poem, In Flanders Fields, she bought a bouquet of poppies and handed them out to businessmen meeting at the New York YMCA where she worked. Later, she would spearhead a campaign that would result in the adoption of the poppy as the national symbol of sacrifice.

Finally, did you know Happy Homestead Cemetery is the final resting place to more than 560 veterans? Volunteers are encouraged to help our local veteran’s group, Vets in Counseling, place American flags at their gravesites at the cemetery on Thursday, May 23. Volunteers are asked to meet at there at 9 a.m.

For more information and to volunteer, contact Carol Olivas at (530) 544-1306.