ESCONDIDO — Local veterans organizations, elected leaders and residents gathered at Oak Hill Memorial Park on Memorial Day to honor those who died while serving their country.
The Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1513, Disabled American Veterans Chapter 70, and Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 1147 organize the annual event. Other local service and political organizations also attended the ceremony, each placing a wreath at the cemetery’s memorial honoring deceased military service members.
The ceremony also included a “Missing Man Table,” a small table set for one representing missing service members.
“As we look upon this table, we must remember the sacrifices made by our servicemembers and their families. We must also remember the over 81,500 service members who have yet to return home,” said Sheila Toor-Snyder with the VFW.
“We must keep them in our thoughts and never forget their service and sacrifice,” she continued. “We will continue to search for you until you are brought home to your loved ones.”
Several locally elected officials attended the ceremony, including Assemblymember Darshana Patel, D-San Diego.
Patel recited General John A. Logan’s General Order No. 11, which established “Decoration Day” — now known as Memorial Day — as a nationwide day of remembrance in May 1868. According to the order, citizens were instructed to decorate the graves of fallen Civil War soldiers with flowers.
The holiday was later expanded to honor those who died in all American wars.
“Though we gather here today in 2026, the purpose remains unchanged. We remember not only those first fallen soldiers, but all those who have made the ultimate sacrifice,” Patel said.
After the ceremony, attendees were encouraged to place red and white flowers on the graves of service members throughout the cemetery. Red flowers honored fallen service members, while white flowers symbolized peace and remembered all victims of war.
“Although our comrades have passed, they are not truly gone so long as we continue to remember them and pass their stories to the next generation,” said DAV Chapter 70 Commander Abel Martinez. “Today, our hearts are heavy with both sorrow and gratitude, but in the midst of our sorrow, let us not forget the fallen heroes we honor today have bestowed upon us the precious gift of freedom.”
