Long Beach, the surrounding area and the nation paused on Monday, May 25, to commemorate Memorial Day, honoring the courage and sacrifices of former and active military personnel.
In Long Beach, Forest Lawn, a cemetery park built in 1921, held a Memorial Day Celebration on Monday morning that featured a keynote address, patriotic music, invocation, ceremonial wreath presentation, the Pledge of Allegiance, a color guard, and a presidential proclamation.
A bugler performs Taps in honor of members of the military who’ve lost their lives in service to our country at a Memorial Day ceremony on Monday, May 25, 2026, at Forest Lawn in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Scout Troop 120 presents a wreath in honor of members of the military who’ve lost their lives in service to our country at a Memorial Day ceremony on Monday, May 25, 2026, at Forest Lawn in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
The Semper Fi Honor Guard prepares for a rifle volley during a Memorial Day ceremony on Monday, May 25, 2026, at Forest Lawn in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
The Band of the California Battalion sing a military song during a Memorial Day ceremony on Monday, May 25, 2026, at Forest Lawn in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Pipe Major Alex Walker marches at a Memorial Day ceremony on Monday, May 25, 2026, at Forest Lawn in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Attendees remember members of the military who lost their lives in service to our country at a Memorial Day ceremony on Monday, May 25, 2026, at Forest Lawn in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Attendees remember members of the military who lost their lives in service to our country at a Memorial Day ceremony on Monday, May 25, 2026, at Forest Lawn in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
The Band of the California Battalion performs during a Memorial Day ceremony on Monday, May 25, 2026, at Forest Lawn in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Members of the Combat Veterans Association retire the Colors during a Memorial Day ceremony on Monday, May 25, 2026, at Forest Lawn in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
A member of the Semper Fi Honor Guard salutes during a Memorial Day ceremony on Monday, May 25, 2026, at Forest Lawn in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
A U.S. Navy veteran is recognized during a Memorial Day ceremony on Monday, May 25, 2026, at Forest Lawn in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Show Caption
1 of 11
A bugler performs Taps in honor of members of the military who’ve lost their lives in service to our country at a Memorial Day ceremony on Monday, May 25, 2026, at Forest Lawn in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
American flags waved in the air as attendees remembered their loved ones and honored those who have served in the United States Armed Forces.
“Now more than ever,” Forest Lawn said on its website, “we come together in honor of the resilience and the triumph of the human spirit.”
Two days earlier, Long Beach also hosted a Memorial Day commemoration at its Navy Memorial at Shoreline Aquatic Park. The Saturday afternoon event, hosted in partnership with the USS Frank E. Evans Association, honored the “Lost 74″ — sailors who, according to the city’s website, died when the USS Frank E. Evans collided with an Australian aircraft carrier in 1969. Long Beach was the home port for that Navy destroyer.
Memorial Day observances were also held at Forest Lawn memorial parks in Covina Hills, Hollywood Hills and Glendale.
There were also plenty of other Memorial Day events this week across the region.
In nearby San Pedro, for example, L.A. Fleet Week concluded with a special Memorial Day ceremony. During its four-day run, Fleet Week drew thousands of people to its main expo area in front of the USS Battleship Iowa to meet with sailors and Marines, tour Navy and Coast Guard ships and take in plenty of live music and other fun events — such as the Galley Wars and a dodgeball tournament. But the Memorial Day observance, with a star-spangled wreath at the heart of the stage, was a solemn, reflective conclusion to the weekend’s festivities.