by Dennis Anderson
special Aerotech News
New Year’s and the Super Bowl wear off quickly, baseball starts, and suddenly it is the Memorial Day and summer coming.
The entire month of May has been dubbed Military Appreciation Month and there is plenty going on across the Antelope Valley in the cities and towns near Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.
This is to remember that Memorial Day, May 26, is the day we remember our nation’s war dead. Veterans Day on Nov. 11 is to honor all our nation’s veterans from all eras and conflicts. There is a difference.
The Edwards Air Force Base community will participate in a 10K Memorial Day observance run on Thursday, May 22, hosted by the Rosburg Fitness Center to honor those who have fallen while serving. The event is for the EAFB Base Community. The venue is Rosburg Fitness Center 210 W Popson Ave. Bldg. 2200, Edwards AFB, CA 93524.
See https://edwardsfss.com/event/memorial-day-10k/ for more information.
A VA Open House will be hosted. on May 23, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Antelope Valley VA Clinic at 340 East Ave I in Lancaster, providing information on VA benefits with VA specialists on hand.
Events Around Memorial Day
On May 26, Memorial Day observed, the public will gather at Lancaster Cemetery where flags have been planted by community volunteers on the graves of more than 1,200 veterans at final rest there. Similar ceremonies will be held at cemeteries and memorial gardens across the Antelope Valley.
Also, starting May 23, the Antelope Valley Mobile Vietnam Memorial, the “AV Wall” with all 58,000-plus Vietnam War dead names on it will be on display May 23-26, 2025 Rancho Tapo Community Park, 3700 Avenida Simi, Simi Valley, CA.
Events:
Opening Ceremony: Friday, May 23 at 5:30 p.m.
Taps: Nightly at 10 p.m.
Support Our Veterans Gathering: Saturday, May 24, 7-9 p.m., at the Amphitheater
Closing/Memorial Day Ceremony: Monday, May 26 at 11 a.m.
It is a “Pride of Place” event for the Antelope Valley but it is happening in Simi Valley.
Among the displays memorializing our honored dead the volunteers of Legacy Commons Knitters and Crocheters in Palmdale put together more than 1,000 knitted and crocheted poppies for the AV Wall display at Rancho Tapo Community Park.
They are taking a bus out to the park on Saturday, May 24 to see their handiwork, and to visit the AV Wall, that half-scale tribute memorial of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C. that was built from a community grassroots funding drive that raised more than $120,000.
Vietnam draftee Michael Bertell, a combat veteran of the 101st Airborne Division, heads up the volunteer effort to present the AV Wall. “Most walls keep people out. This wall brings people together.”
Key Memorial Day Activities
In Palmdale, a “Field of Honor” will greet the public for Memorial Day with large American flags purchased by the community filling the field at Pelona Vista Park.
Date: May 26, 2025 Time: 11a.m.-noon. Location: Pelona Vista Park, 37800 Tierra Subida Avenue, Palmdale CA 93550
Palmdale’s Memorial Day Ceremony honors and remembers those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation. Family and friends to pay tribute to those who have served our country with courage and honor. The ceremony will be livestreamed on Facebook.
In Lancaster, at Lancaster Cemetery – Los Angeles County, CA, the Memorial Day ceremonies begin at 9 a.m. at 111 E Lancaster Blvd, Lancaster CA 93535.
The Antelope Valley Detachment 930 Marine Corps League will present the Colors, Taps and 21 Gun Salute. Joan Enguita Willingham to sing the National Anthem. The Antelope Valley Blue Star Mothers Chapter 14 will place Memorial Wreaths and the Cemetery District Trustees will place memorial bouquets. The Navy’s “Two Bell Ceremony,” will honor loved ones who served and passed on since May 2024. Keynote Speaker is Phillip Ketchum, with more than 27 years of dedicated service in the Air Force and Air Force Reserve, and a long family history of loyal military service and bravery.
Same day, Monday, May 26, at 11 a.m. Memorial Day Ceremonies are scheduled at Joshua Memorial Park in Lancaster, with VFW Post 3000 participating in ceremonies at the 808 E. Lancaster Blvd. park with its own veterans memorial garden.
Closing Out May Military Appreciation Month
On May 30, for people with access to Edwards Air Force Base there will be a Military Retiree Appreciation Day at the Military Family Readiness Center. More information at RetireeAppreciationDayEdwards@gmail.com or call Thomas Schamber at 818-298-1218.
Two Antelope Valley events to close out the month of Military Appreciation will be the 15th Annual Joseph Lopez Pratti 5K Run and Walk to honor the memory of Lance Cpl. Pratti and all his Marine brothers who were killed in action in Afghanistan in 2010. Registration at Rosamond High School begins at 7 a.m. More information on Facebook and Instagram @josephlopezpratti5k.
An hour or two after everyone finishes a run to honor the Darkhorse Marines of 3rd Marines, 5th Regiment, the May 31 “Memorial Day BBQ” finishes the week and month in Lancaster at Elks Lodge 1625 at 240 East Ave. K from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Barbecue honors Elk Walter Sapp, a Vietnam War veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard.
There are more events across May and Memorial Day, but these are a few that thoughtful citizens can participate in and take heart from that the United States is a nation worth loving and defending.
Editor’s note: Dennis Anderson is a licensed clinical social worker at High Desert Medical Group. An Army veteran, he works on veterans and community health issues, and has served on the Los Angeles County Veterans Advisory Commission.
