Here are some of the events for Memorial Day in Phoenix:
The City of Avondale, American Legion Crandall Palmer Post 61, VFW Pat Tillman Memorial Post 40, Scottish American Military Society, and the Blue Star Moms of the Southwest Valley present a program featuring posting of the Colors, TAPS, a solemn POW/MIA table ceremony, and a candle lighting remembrance. Guest speakers. A wreath honors the memory of fallen members of the Armed Forces on flag-lined path featuring bricks engraved with names of veterans and flags representing each of the six branches of the Military. Bring lawn chairs or blankets. Avondale Civic Center 11465 W. Civic Center Drive, at the outdoor amphitheater. Call 623-333-2400 for more information. Free.
In 2011: Monday, May 30 from 7 to 8 p.m.
Memorial Day Celebration
The Arizona Academy of the Performing Arts hosts the Memorial Day Celebration at the Pera Club, 1 E. Continental Dr., Tempe. This annual event recognizes the memory of our war heroes through a spectrum of family events including food, games, entertainment, and raffles. The Academy Drum and Bugle Corps will debut their 2011 music.
In 2011: Monday, May 30 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Memorial Day Bike Rally
Riders USA pays tribute to our fallen at Phoenix National Cemetery, 23029 N. Cave Creek Road, Phoenix. Flag Display & Salute to arrivals at 6:30 a.m. Ride into the Cemetery at 7:45 a.m. Official Ceremony at 8 a.m. inside cemetery. The flag display and salute along with the official Ceremony are free. For $10 donation you can sponsor a flag. Register online. In 2011: Monday, May 30 from 6:30 a.m. to 10 a.m.
Arizona State University’s Symphonic Carillon
The Symphonic Carillon is a lasting tribute to those in the ASU community who gave their lives for their country. Join us as we read their names. Our carillonneurs will play patriotic music. ASU, in front of the Memorial Union, Tempe campus.
In 2011: Tuesday, May 31 from noon to 1 p.m.
Memorial Day Celebration
The highlight of this annual festival is a performance by the Drum & Bugle Corps of the Arizona Academy of the Performing Arts. The award-winning group, which has more than 100 musicians 21 or younger, will play iconic American songs. Additional activities include food, games and raffles.
Details: 4-8 p.m. Monday, May 30. Pera Club, 1 E. Continental Drive, Tempe. $8, $5 through May 29. 480-838-4203, arizonaacademy.org.
Memorial Day Observance
The Pioneers Cemetery Association presents the 28th annual observance by decorating the historical cemetery with flags and flowers. Civil War organizations and state historians are among the groups that will participate. Visitors can take a guided tour of the 1897 Smurthwaite House.
Details: 9 a.m. Monday, May 30. Pioneer and Military Memorial Park, 1317 W. Jefferson St., Phoenix. Free. FREE. 602-534-1262, azhistcemeteries.org.
McCain on Memorial Day: Love Our Freedom for ‘the Goodness It Makes Possible’
By Bridget Johnson
Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) said at AEI today that Memorial Day reminds us to cherish our freedom and its responsibilities, “Whether it calls us to arms or altruism or politics.”
Giving a brief address at the “Why Memorial Day?” discussion before heading to the Senate for 5 p.m. budget votes, McCain did not mention his six years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. Yet he noted that in his youth he viewed the holiday as “the unofficial first day of summer,” a time for picnics and days at the beach, as many do.
“The older I become the more meaning Memorial Day holds,” McCain said, “whether you have served in uniform or not.”
The senator said that even though all would not have the “privilege and burden” of serving, the “grim tests of courage and character have made a legend of combat veterans’ devotion to duty” in every part of America.
“We have to love our freedom not just for the private opportunities it provides but the goodness it makes possible,” McCain said, adding “we must love it enough to argue about it.”
And as the world still holds many dangers, many will be called to sacrifice again. “Man’s inhumanity to man is an evil that will never be entirely extinct,” he said. “Americans will be asked again to bear burdens that only the brave can endure.”
On Memorial Day, the senator stressed, we must remember “those Americans for whom duty, honor and love of country were more dear to them than life itself.”
“We must not forget what they did,” McCain said. “Their honor is eternal.”
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