Where to attend or watch Memorial Day ceremonies for veterans in Sacramento area
Those wishing to honor fallen military service members who died while serving their country will have opportunities to attend Memorial Day ceremonies in-person on Monday in the Sacramento area.
Even with a declining number of COVID-19 cases and a distribution of vaccines in California, some organizers have chosen to keep Memorial Day ceremonies virtual again this year. While those ceremonies are being conducted privately and broadcast on TV or online, volunteers are still planting small American flags at grave sites and placing memorial wreaths to honor the fallen.
This holiday weekend is commonly marked as the unofficial start of summer, when families gather to celebrate in warm weather. But Memorial Day is a time to honor women and men in the military who sacrificed their lives in combat.
Here is how some groups are honoring service men and women on Memorial Day:
Auburn
Memorial Day services will be held at 9 a.m. Monday at the War Memorial at the New Auburn Cemetery at 1040 Collins Drive, featuring a wreath-laying ceremony and a release of white doves, according to a news release.
The ceremony also will feature a rifle salute by the Auburn Area Honor Guard, “Taps” will be performed by Placer High School students Anna Soares and Alex Belles and flowers will be presented to Gold Star family members.
Those who attend the Auburn event must adhere to COVID-19 safety rules by maintaining 6 feet of social distance of 6 feet or masks must be worn, organizers said in the news release. Entrance to the cemetery will only be permitted on Collins Drive.
On the same day, brief ceremonies will follow including a wreath laying and the rendering of honors at 10 a.m. at the Old Auburn Cemetery at 170 Fulweiler Avenue in Auburn; at 11 a.m. at the Newcastle Cemetery at 850 Taylor Road in Newcastle; and at noon at the Maidu Indian Burial Ground at the corner of Maidu Road and Wildwood Drive in Auburn.
Sacramento Valley National Cemetery, Dixon
Sacramento Valley National Cemetery in Dixon will not be hosting a public Memorial Day service on Monday, according to the Sacramento Valley National Cemetery Support Committee. American flags will be placed at all grave sites throughout the holiday weekend, and the cemetery at 5810 Midway Road will remain open sunrise to sunset on Memorial Day for visitors to pay respect to loved ones.
Fully vaccinated national cemetery employees, on-site contractors, volunteers including honor guards and visitors are no longer required to wear masks indoors or outdoors, according to the National Cemetery Administration. Those who are not fully vaccinated should continue to follow existing U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention COVID-19 guidelines.
Last year, a private wreath-laying ceremony was held on Memorial Day at the Sacramento Valley Cemetery. The ceremony was not public in accordance with California’s then stay-at-home order.
East Lawn Cemeteries
East Lawn is hosting outdoor in-person Memorial Day events scheduled to begin 10 a.m. Monday for at three of its locations: 4300 Folsom Blvd. in East Sacramento, 9189 E. Stockton Blvd. in Elk Grove and 5757 Greenback Lane in Citrus Heights. It’s fourth location in south Sacramento will not be hosting an event Monday.
Monday’s event will feature music and special tributes and offer refreshments, according to the East Lawn website. Last year, East Lawn organized virtual Memorial Day event due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Placerville
A virtual Memorial Day ceremony is scheduled at 11 a.m. Monday in El Dorado County and broadcast on on Sierra Community Access Television Channel 2 and streamed online on the Facebook page for the County of El Dorado Veterans Affairs Commission, according to the El Dorado County Veterans Alliance.
Typically, hundreds of attendees gather Memorial Day services at the Veterans Monument grounds, 360 Fair Lane in Placerville. With uncertainty about the group gathering sizes due to COVID-19, organizers decided to plan a virtual ceremony this year. They held a virtual ceremony last year, too.
The El Dorado ceremony also will be streamed online on other county-affiliated social media accounts. This is the second year the ceremony has moved to a virtual setting to prevent further spread of COVID-19, rather than the traditional in-person ceremony.
This story was originally published May 29, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
