Decoration Day parade in Pasadena, 1891. Security Pacific National Bank Collection
Memorial Day is officially observed on the last Monday of May, honoring the men and women who lost their lives while serving in the U.S. military. It was originally known as Decoration Day because families would decorate the graves of those who had fallen in the Civil War. Many Americans observe Memorial Day by visiting cemeteries or memorials, holding family gatherings and participating in parades as you can see from this selection of images from our Photo Collection.
Boy Scouts place flags on each of the 77,000 graves at the Veterans National Cemetery in Westwood in observance of Memorial Day, [1987]. Herald-Examiner Collection
Local scouts with their flags march on Brand Boulevard in the Memorial Day Parade, in Glendale, [1979]. Herald-Examiner Collection
A lonely woman pauses in the solitude of the morning to pay homage on this, the 96th observance of Memorial Day, [1964]. Valley Times Collection
Seven-year-old Patricia Ross places flowers at the base of the monument in Valhalla Memorial Park, North Hollywood, honoring soldiers killed on the battlefield, [1962]. Valley Times Collection
Patty Peters, 4, of Encino, carries a grownup-size bouquet with flag to Veteran's Monument at Valhalla Memorial Park, North Hollywood, in observance of Memorial Day [1959]. Valley Times Collection
Books of War and Sacrifice
Fobbit
Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk
The Ghosts of Hero Street: How One Small Mexican-American Community Gave so Much in World War II and Korea
Paco's Story
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption
Red Tail Captured, Red Tail Free: Memoirs of a Tuskegee Airman and POW
Tree of Smoke
The Thin Red Line
Jones is best known for From Here to Eternity, and several other books about war, but this book is far more raw in its representation of men at the battlefront.
Generation Kill: Devil Dogs, Iceman, Captain America, and the New Face of American War
Shoot Like a Girl: One Woman's Dramatic Fight in Afghanistan and on the Home Front
The Operator: Firing the Shots that Killed Osama bin Laden and My Years as a SEAL Team Warrior
Ashley's War: The Untold Story of a Team of Women Soldiers on the Special Ops Battlefield