Communities across Santa Barbara County will pause to remember the true purpose of Memorial Day with multiple ceremonies on Monday.
Often treated as the unofficial launch of the summer season and another a three-day weekend, Memorial Day actually has a somber — often overlooked —purpose: to remember U.S. military personnel killed in peacetime and war.
Goleta, Carpinteria & Santa Barbara
Goleta will lead off the day’s events with a ceremony at 9 a.m. at the Veterans’ Memorial at the Goleta Cemetery, 44 S. San Antonio Road.
Retired Navy Cmdr. James “Jimmy” Bailey and Air Force veterans Betty Ramos speak before the retired Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Fred Lopez delivers the keynote speech.
Seating is limited and guests who have difficulty standing will be given seating priority. It is recommended that guests bring lawn chairs. Since parking is extremely limited, attendees should carpool or use alternative transportation.
A number of other youths and adults also have been assigned roles as part of the ceremony.
At 10 a.m. Monday, the Carpinteria Lions will organize a Memorial Day ceremony planned for the Carpinteria Cemetery, 1501 Cravens Lane.
In Santa Barbara, a ceremony hosted by the Pierre Claeyssens Veterans Foundation (PCVF) and the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1649, will start at 11 a.m. near the main flagpole with ample seating at the Santa Barbara Cemetery, 901 Channel Dr.
This year’s keynote speaker is retired Navy Rear Admiral John Weigold, a 1984 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy.
Weigold’s distinguished 33-year career included commanding seven Reserve units and serving as the deputy commander for both the U.S. Seventh Fleet in Japan and the U.S. Pacific Fleet.
He earned multiple medals before retiring from the Navy in 2017. Now a resident of Santa Barbara, he serves as a faculty member and lecturer at Yale University’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs.
Other participants include UCSB ROTC Color Guard, the Gold Coast Pipe & Drum Band, David Gonzales and the Santa Barbara Choral Society, and The Prime Time Band. The ceremony concludes with a flyover by The Condor Squadron.
Santa Maria Valley
Starting at 11 a.m. at the Santa Maria Cemetery, 1501 S. College Drive, speakers will include U.S. Space Force Col. James T. Horne, Space Launch Delta 30 commander at Vandenberg Space Force Base.
In Orcutt, Space Force Col. Justin Sorice, Space Launch Delta 5 commander, will participate in the ceremony starting at 11 a.m. at Pine Grove Cemetery, 1165 Stubblefield Road.
The Guadalupe Cemetery, corner of Highways 1 and 166 (West Main and Guadalupe streets), will host a ceremony starting at 11 a.m. The ceremony will include a keynote speaker and a reading of the fallen warriors’ names.
At 1 p.m. Monday, the Santa Maria Elks will pause pre-rodeo preparations mark Memorial Day with a ceremony at the veterans memorial inside Gate 2 at the Santa Maria Elks/Unocal Event Center, 4040 Highway 101.
Lompoc, Santa Ynez, Los Alamos Valleys
The Lompoc Evergreen Cemetery, 600 South C Street, will be the site of a ceremony set to start at 11 a.m. Monday. Speakers will include Space Force Lt. Col. Andrew Singleton, 2nd Space Launch Squadron commander.
Following short ceremonies at the Santa Ynez Valley’s cemeteries, the Solvang Veterans Memorial Hall, 1745 Mission Dr., will be the site of a larger gathering starting at noon Monday.
Participants will include Chief Master Sgt. Shannan Sanchez, Space Launch Delta 30 senior enlisted leader.
A ceremony at the Los Alamos Cemetery, 4777 Drum Canyon Road, will start at 11 a.m. Monday where speeches, songs, flag ceremony and honor guard salute are planned.
Ahead of Monday’s ceremonies, volunteers of all ages are expected to place small flags on the graves of veterans at many of the cemeteries across the Central Coast.