Ultimate sacrifice honored at cemeteries

Boulder City was once again the center of Memorial Day ceremonies for Southern Nevada honoring men and women who died while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces.

The events started Sunday with a ceremony honoring Special Forces members killed in action and buried at the Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery. (See Page 1 story.)

Then Monday morning, American Legion Post 31 honored the nearly 400 veterans buried at the Boulder City Cemetery, led by keynote speaker, U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. James LaBelle from Nellis Air Force Base.

The afternoon ceremony at Veterans Memorial Cemetery eliminated the political speeches in favor of a keynote speech by a local World War II veteran.

The commemorative event was attended by nearly 700 people including U.S. Sen. Dean Heller and U.S. Congressional Reps, Joe Heck, Dina Titus and Steven Horsford. The Vietnam Veterans of America hosted the event.

Nearly 24,000 veterans are buried at the state cemetery, which opened in 1990.