Monday's Memorial Day event at San Francisco's historic Presidio cemetery featured dignitaries, military pomp and circumstance, and tributes to fallen servicemembers.
The annual ceremony at the oldest national cemetery on the West Coast has a certain order and familiarity – a local junior RTOC group presents the colors, a Coast Guard helicopter performs a flyover, and as she has for the last few years House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi will often take the podium.
At this year's event, she honored World War II veterans and acknowledged that with every passing year there are fewer and fewer of them.
Pelosi recently met with a group of them at the French embassy in Washington, D.C.
"They had 10 veterans there," she said. "One was 104. He was from Baltimore, so we had a lot in common to talk about. There were several, 102, 97, and the rest. All so proud. So patriotic."
Marine Col. Robert Barnhart applauded those who observe the holiday with backyard barbecues, but he reminded the audience of the day’s historical significance.
"Memorial Day is a reminder that every generation has had to fight to preserve what George Washington referred to during his first inaugural address as an experiment in democracy," he said.
People also visited grave sites at the cemetery to pay their respects. Among them was Claire Espino, who lost an uncle in Vietnam.
"We need to have peace. People are dying everywhere," she said. "My uncle shouldn't have had to die at 21 years of age in another country fighting for our freedoms. But I understand why we do what we do. We're a beautiful country. But at what sacrifice?"
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Espino has three generations of family who served in the U.S. armed forces. She said remembering each of them on Memorial Day is the least she can do to honor their service.
