Retired service members spoke about the sacrifices made by those who serve and the importance of honoring those who never came home during Monday’s Memorial Day ceremony at the Santa Barbara Cemetery.

The ceremony began with the UC Santa Barbara Reserves Officers Training Corps (ROTC) Color Guard presenting the colors. Lt. Col. Patricia Rumpza led the Pledge of Allegiance, and the national anthem was sung by David Gonzales, a retired sergeant with the Santa Barbara Police Department. 

Throughout the ceremony, Lt. John Blankenship reminded the crowd to remember the men and women who died in service. 

“It’s really encouraging to me that each year it seems like we have more people to pay tribute to the real heroes,” Blankenship said. “Not the ones that are before you, but the ones who are behind us, who gave their all to defend this nation.”

Blankenship gave a special recognition to Art Petersen, a 100-year-old Santa Barbara resident who fought as a paratrooper with the Screaming Eagles during World War II and saw action in Normandy on D-Day. 

Lt. Col. Joe Ruhl, a professor of military science at UCSB, introduced cadets from the UCSB ROTC program and shared with the crowd their accomplishments and where they will be going after the program. 

Ruhl spoke about the cadets’ willingness to serve despite the uncertainty with conflict around the world. 

“People who still choose to serve and those who have served are doing it because they want to,” Ruhl said. 

Ruhl shared that UCSB’s ROTC program is growing and that they’re expecting 75 cadets next year, compared with the usual 50 to 60 cadets.

He said Memorial Day serves as a reminder of the friends, family members and comrades who died in service, but that it’s also a chance to celebrate their memory. 

“As we remember them, it’s also a celebration of their lives as well, to keep that memory alive of the great sacrifice that they gave for all of us,” Ruhl said. “And hopefully, we do not have to see many give that same sacrifice in the near future as well.”

The ceremony included musical performances from the Gold Coast Pipe Band, the Santa Barbara Choral Society and the Prime Time Band. 

The Gold Coast Pipe Band, directed by Bill Boetticher, performed the song “Sun Gan” and other songs throughout the ceremony.  

The Santa Barbara Choral Society, directed by JoAnne Wasserman, performed “Battle Hymn of the Republic” arranged by Peter Wilhousky, “Two Brothers” arranged by Patrick Casey and “America the Beautiful” arranged by Carmen Dragon. 

The Prime Time Band, directed by Paul Mori, performed “Hymn to the Fallen,” “Service Medley,” “Shenandoah” and “Liberty Bell March.” 

Marine Brig. Gen. Frederick Lopez spoke about the sacrifice made by members of the military and their families and honored those who are still missing in action. 

“For the 81,900 missing in action, from World War II to today, we are unable to pay our respects at a final resting place like this beautiful cemetery,” Lopez said. “We will, however, never forget them, and we’ll never stop looking to bring them home.”

Lopez spoke about his own fallen comrades and the waves of emotion he experiences when seeing their names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.

“On the wall are 11 of my 1968 Marine Corps officers’ school classmates and the names of Marines and sailors who I laughed with, shared stories of family, ate with, went into battle with, and a little bit of me died with,” Lopez said. 

He also spoke about the deep appreciation and honor he has to have known those men and reminded the crowd that it’s important to remember them every day, not just on Memorial Day. 

The ceremony included a flyover by the Condor Squadron. Flying over Santa Barbara were three trainer planes used in World War II. They flew over three times, performing what’s known as the missing man on their last turn. In the missing man, one plane can be seen heading west, away from the others, honoring the pilots who get lost or shot down and head west, toward home.

Toward the end of the ceremony, Barney Melekian, a retired member of the U.S. Coast Guard, read the poem “In Flanders Fields” by John McCrae. Melekian spoke about McCrae, a Canadian poet and physician who served in World War I.

Melekian shared that McCrae wrote the poem in the back of a field ambulance the day after he presided over a funeral of a close friend. 

The ceremony was organized by the Pierre Claeyssens Veterans Foundation, whose next event will be on July 4 at 5 p.m. in the Santa Barbara Courthouse Sunken Garden.