LAKE COUNTY – Memorial Day weekend is the traditional kickoff of summer activities, but it's an important time to remember the service and sacrifices of veterans in the nation's wars.

In memory of those soldiers, several events and activities are planned for this week and weekend.

Locally, May has been set aside as a time to honor vets. On May 1, the Board of Supervisors proclaimed this month as National Military Appreciation Month.

Dean Gotham, president of the Lake County Vietnam Veterans of American (VVA) Chapter 951, said events are going on all week.

At 2 p.m. Wednesday, Bryon Martinez, owner of Lucerne's Firehouse Pizza, and several of his friends in the National Guard will be honored at a get-together at the restaurant, said Gotham.

Martinez and his fellow service members are about to ship out for a tour in Iraq, as Lake County News previously reported. Martinez is facing a particularly hazardous assignment – clearing roads of homemade explosive devices.

On Thursday, Natural High School in Lakeport will dedicate a flag pole in honor of veterans at 9 a.m., said Gotham, with veterans groups invited to attend.

Gotham said his group, along with Veterans of Foreign Wars and the United Veterans Council Military Funeral Honors Team will take part in Lakeport's Memorial Day parade on Saturday morning.

Rich Feiro, the honors team's firing party commander, said team members will serve as the parade's grand marshals this year.

“As soon as we complete the parade, we're breaking up into groups and going to the nursing homes and visiting veterans,” Gotham said. “We want them to know they're in our thoughts.”

From Saturday through Sunday, Gotham said VVA and and VFW will conduct poppy sales around the county to raise funds for group efforts to support local veterans.

The poppy represents fallen soldiers, said Gotham, and is rooted in the battles at Flanders Fields in World War I.

Historical accounts say Flanders Fields, located in Belgium, included four battles which raged over a month, from late April to late May of 1915. Total casualties are estimated at more than 100,000. Poppies later sprang up over the fields where the war dead were buried. Lt. Colonel John McCrae, a Canadian Army physician, wrote a famous poem, “In Flanders Fields,” to commemorate the battle.

On Memorial Day, the Avenue of the Flags will fly at Hartley, Lower Lake and Upper Lake cemeteries from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Gotham said, weather permitting. If it rains, the flags will be taken down early.

VVA will fly the Avenue of Flags at Hartley Cemetery in Lakeport, Gotham said. Joel Moore, acting president of the Lake County Veterans Memorial Avenue of Flags Association, will oversee the avenue at the Lower Lake Cemetery. Another group of volunteers led by Lucerne resident Frank Parker takes care of the avenue in Upper Lake.

Moore said the Avenue of Flags Association has the care of about 700 burial flags from veterans, most of them local, which have been donated by families to be included in the commemorations.

About 340 of the flags will fly at Lower Lake, said Moore, with the rest being split almost evenly between Hartley and Upper Lake cemeteries.

Moore said the Boy Scouts and Carle High School help put up the flags, which go up early on Monday morning. Volunteers are still welcome, said Moore, as are volunteer officers for the Avenue of Flags Association.

The United Veterans Council Military Funeral Honors Team will have its busiest day on Monday, as it's slated to perform at several ceremonies throughout the day, Feiro said.

The team will take part in the following events over Memorial Day weekend.

Saturday, May 26:

– 9 a.m. Memorial Day Ceremony, Kelseyville Cemetery, 3375 Bell Hill Road.

– 10:30 a.m. Memorial Day Parade, Main Street, Lakeport.

Monday, May 28:

– 7 a.m. Flag raising ceremony at Veterans Circle, Hartley Cemetery, 2552 Hill Road, Lakeport.

– 9 a.m. Memorial Day Ceremony, Lower Lake Cemetery, 9040 Lake. A ceremony at Veterans Bridge on Cache Creek will follow.

– 11 a.m. Memorial Day Ceremony, Upper Lake Cemetery, 780 Clover Valley Road.

– 1:30 p.m. Memorial Day Ceremony, Hartley Cemetery, 2552 Hill Road, Lakeport.

If you're interested in helping with the Avenue of Flags, call Joel Moore at 994-5342.

To learn more about local veterans groups, visit the following Web sites: Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 951, www.vva951.org; Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2015, www.vfwpost2015.com; the United Veterans Council Military Funeral Honors Team http://home.mchsi.com/~jfeiro2/wsb/html/view.cgi-home.html-.html.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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