Local events will salute Memorial Day on Monday

A Fountain Valley park that once had no official name but is home to a military memorial has been dubbed Veterans Park, and it will be a center of attention Monday on Memorial Day as the nation honors those who died serving in the armed forces.

Veterans Park, just east of the Orange County Library branch at 17635 Los Alamos St., will host an annual Memorial Day program at 10 a.m., presented by the West Orange County Veterans of Foreign Wars Post and Auxiliary No. 9557.

Fliers and calendar listings for Memorial Day and Veterans Day events at the park over the years referred to it as Veterans Park, but until the Fountain Valley City Council unanimously agreed to formally name it in April, that was only an apt nickname.

Veterans Park is not to be confused with Heritage Park, which is on the west side of the library and contains a gazebo and historical buildings.

Other area Memorial Day events Monday include:

Costa Mesa: A veteran-led commemoration at Harbor Lawn-Mt. Olive Memorial Park will include a wreath-laying ceremony, a C-130 flyover and missing-man formation, World War II vehicles with reenactors in period uniforms, and a keynote address from Marine Brig. Gen. Ryan Heritage, commanding general of the Marine Corps Recruit Depot for the Western Recruiting Region in San Diego. The event, in its 65th year, will start at 11 a.m. at 1625 Gisler Ave.

Huntington Beach: A ceremony presented by the city will start at 11 a.m. at Huntington Beach Pier Plaza at Main Street and Pacific Coast Highway.

Also, Nuvision Credit Union will hold a gas and car wash giveaway for veterans and active-duty military personnel from 8 to 10 a.m. at the Mobil station at Beach Boulevard and Edinger Avenue.

Laguna Beach: The Laguna Beach Exchange Club will start the holiday with a pancake breakfast served by members of the Fire Department from 7 to 10:30 a.m. at Heisler Park, 375 Cliff Drive. A disc jockey will play patriotic music at 10:30, leading to an 11 a.m. ceremony at Heisler Park’s Monument Point presented by the local American Legion and VFW posts. Arnold Silverman, a Korean War veteran, will be the keynote speaker.

At noon, the Laguna Community Concert Band will perform at the Main Beach cobblestones.

Newport Beach: The annual Field of Honor display of 1,776 full-size American flags will end this year’s run at Castaways Park following a noon ceremony at the Marine monument overlooking Newport Bay. The park is at 16th Street and Dover Drive.

In Corona del Mar, Newport’s American Legion Post 291 will hold a ceremony at 11 a.m. at Pacific View Memorial Park, 3500 Pacific View Drive, and the Corona del Mar Chamber of Commerce will line a stretch of East Coast Highway with American flags for the day.

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