By Celia Shortt Goodyear and Hali Bernstein Saylor Boulder City Review
(Celia Shortt Goodyear/Boulder City Review)
Disabled American Veterans, Black Mountain Chapter 12’s, firing honor guard performs a 21 gun salute Monday, May 27, for the Memorial Day service at the Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Boulder City.
(Rachel Aston/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Hundreds of motorcyclists pull up to the Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery for a ceremony to honor those who died while serving in the military Sunday, May 26. This was the 25th annual Fly Your Flags Over the Hoover Dam run.
(Rachel Aston/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Frank Flores, a member of the Special Forces Association, Chapter 41, places a wreath during a ceremony to honor Green Berets who died while serving in the military at the Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Boulder City on Sunday, May 26.
(Hali Bernstein Saylor/Boulder City Review)
Jose “Chile” Ruacho, in back second from right, a disabled veteran and member of the Vietnam Vets-Legacy Vets Motorcycle Club, brought his family from Los Angeles to Boulder City to support the 25th annual Fly Your Flags Over Hoover Dam run on Sunday, May 26. Joining him were, front row, from left, Lucy, Leyla, Jose, back row, from left, Eva and Bella Ruacho. He was accompanied by his service dog of two weeks, Willow, that had been rescued from Mexico and trained by prison inmates.
(Hali Bernstein Saylor/Boulder City Review)
Arrow, center, president of the Las Vegas area Vietnam Vets-Legacy Vets Motorcycle Club, was among the hundreds of motorcycle riders who attended the 25th annual Fly Your Flags Over Hoover Dam run and Memorial Day ceremony at the Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery on Sunday, May 26, 2019.
Celia Shortt Goodyear/Boulder City Review
More than 5,000 flags were placed at the Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Boulder City in honor of Memorial Day on Monday, May 27.
(Celia Shortt Goodyear/Boulder City Review)
Brennan Tica of the Scottish-American Military Society, Post 711, helps present the colors Monday, May 27, during the Memorial Day ceremony at the Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Boulder City.
(Celia Shortt Goodyear/Boulder City Review)
Nevada Secretary of State Barbara K. Cegavske prepares to receive dog tag replicas from the Operation Battle Born Ruck March during the Memorial Day service Monday, May 27, at the Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Boulder City. The dog tags commemorate those who have been killed in action since 9/11 and members of the Operation Battle Born group had marched them from Carson City to Boulder City before the program.
(Rachel Aston/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Liyah Makarechian, 3, places a flag at the Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery on Sunday, May 26, before the Special Forces Association, Chapter 51, hosted a memorial service honoring Green Berets who died in the military.
(Rachel Aston/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Sarah Vela helps her son Jace Vela, 5, place a pennies to form a cross on her grandfather’s memorial stone at Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery on Sunday, May 26. Her grandfather, Edward James Erskine, was a U.S. Navy veteran who served in World War II.
(Hali Bernstein Saylor/Boulder City Review)
White roses were placed at a memorial to honor Purple Heart recipients at the Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Boulder City on Sunday, May 26, 2019.
(Hali Bernstein Saylor/Boulder City Review)
Aurelio Flores, president of Chapter 51, Special Forces Association, welcomes attendees to the 25th annual Memorial Day ceremony at the Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery on Sunday, May 26. The ceremony, held in conjuction with the Vietnam Vets-Legacy Vets Motorcycle Club’s annual Fly Your Flags Over Hoover Dam run, honors fallen Green Berets and other service members.
(Hali Bernstein Saylor/Boulder City Review)
Brent and Elaine Daniels flew in from Florida to support the 25th annual Fly Your Flags Over Hoover Dam run presented Sunday, May 26, by the Vietnam Vets-Legacy Vets Motorcycle Club. They were among the hundreds of riders that traveled from the Arizona side of Hoover Dam to the Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery for a Memorial Day service.
(Hali Bernstein Saylor/Boulder City Review)
Brent and Elaine Daniels flew in from Florida to support the 25th annual Fly Your Flags Over Hoover Dam run presented Sunday, May 26, by the Vietnam Vets-Legacy Vets Motorcycle Club. They were among the hundreds of riders that traveled from the Arizona side of Hoover Dam to the Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery for a Memorial Day service.
On Memorial Day weekend in Boulder City, residents, visitors and officials stopped to remember and honor those in the military who died protecting the United States.
Sunday, hundreds of motorcyclists participated in the Las Vegas Vietnam Vets-Legacy Vets Motorcycle Club’s 25th annual Fly Your Flags Over Hoover Dam run, traveling from the Arizona side of Hoover Dam to the Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery.
Arrow, president of the club, said he was moved by the patriotism he saw among the riders and those who lined the route to wave and cheer them on.
“Grief from loss might change from year to year, but it never goes away,” he said during the ceremony, which honored and remembered those who lost their lives serving the nation. “These heroes answered the call and are worthy of our remembering.”
Also participating in the ceremony were members of the Special Forces Association, Chapter 51, of Las Vegas. Association members, accompanied by their wives and a few women from those who assembled for the ceremony, placed American flags and red roses in front of a memorial as they shared how many Green Berets had died each month.
On Monday, May 27, the Nevada Department of Veterans Services held its annual Memorial Day ceremony at the chapel in the Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery.
Keynote speaker Henderson Municipal Court Judge Mark Stevens spoke about reflecting on the “extreme cost” of war and those who were lost.
“The priority should be the appreciation for those who fought and lost their lives. … The sacrifices they provided, they created the freedom we experience,” he said about celebrating Memorial Day.
Stevens also said it is right to “honor, respect and remember” them, their sacrifices and what they have done for the country.
Monday’s ceremony was sponsored by the Military Order of the Purple Heart and emceed by its historian Chuck N. Baker.
There was also a presentation from Operation Battle Born Ruck March. The group of veterans marched more than 400 miles from the Battle Born Memorial in Carson City to the Boulder City veterans cemetery. They carried replica dog tags of members of the armed forces who had died in combat since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Participant and veteran Sean Brown presented the tags to Nevada Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske.
The program also featured musical performances, including two by Phil Esser of Boulder City. Residents of the Nevada State Veterans Home in Boulder City, Blue Star Mothers, Gold Star parents and the Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery Association members and volunteers were recognized.
The Scottish American Military Society, Post 711, presented the colors, and the Boulder City Veterans Pilot Group did a flyover in the missing man formation.
Several state officials attended the program including U.S. Reps. Susie Lee and Steven Horsford.
Contact reporter Celia Shortt Goodyear at cgoodyear@bouldercityreview.com or at 702-586-9401. Follow her on Twitter @csgoodyear.
Hali Bernstein Saylor is editor of the Boulder City Review. She can be reached at hsaylor@bouldercityreview.com or at 702-586-9523. Follow @HalisComment on Twitter.
