Memorial Day more than just a long weekend

Memorial Day isn't just a reason for a three-day weekend.

Throughout history, 10 million American servicemen have sacrificed their lives for America and Memorial Day is the holiday that remembers them.

Among the holiday events, the Conejo-Simi Valley Chapter of Military Officers Association of America will present its annual Memorial Day service at 10:30 a.m., Mon., May 29 at Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Memorial Park, 5600 Lindero Canyon Road in Westlake Village.

"This (event) is done basically as a history," said Hal Geer, a retired Warner Brothers cartoon man who has put together each of the last 14 Memorial Day events at the Westlake Village cemetery. "There are no politicians talking. It's not your traditional program at all. This is done almost like a musical cantata, where music tells the story of America's history and the military's involvement giving us our freedom."

The Memorial Day service will include recollections by KTLA newscaster Stan Cham

bers, performances by the Simi Valley High School band and the Amen Choir. Planes will fly over the park, and military servicemen and women will help pay tribute to America's military heroes.

"There are more than 10 million people that have been killed in our wars," Geer said. "That's just military people, not including civilians. This memorial is a remembrance of these people who have died trying to give us our freedom."

Gen. John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, officially proclaimed Memorial Day on May 5, 1868. Others in the country first observed Memorial Day on May 30, 1873, when they placed flowers on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery.

After World War I, most states in the country recognized Memorial Day, the last Monday in May, as a day to remember not only the soldiers of the Civil War, but Americans who fought in any United

States war.

In 1971, Congress created the national holiday.

"We would like the public to know what Memorial Day is all about," Geer said on behalf of the Conejo-Simi Valley Chapter of the Military Officers Association of America. "This isn't an occasion for parades and all that sort of thing, in our opinion. Memorial Day is not a holiday. It's a memorial day, and it started out as Decoration Day

when people put flowers on the graves (of military servicemen)."

The Memorial Day service at Valley Oaks is free and visitors are advised to arrive and park early.