Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Remembrance ceremonies are planned for Monday, Memorial Day.
Clovis' Elks Lodge #1244, VFW Post 3015 and the Joint Veterans Council are presenting a program at Lawn Haven Memorial Gardens Cemetery, 1601 Llano Estacado Blvd., in Clovis at 11 a.m. Monday.
The event will feature a number of speakers including Clovis Mayor Mike Morris, Cannon Air Force Base Wing Commander Col. Terence Taylor, Congresswoman Teresa Ledger Fernandez's field representative Ben Salazar and Exalted Ruler for the Clovis Elk's Lodge Valentino Martinez.
The ceremony will also feature the Cannon AFB Honor Guard and a 13-fold ceremony for the American flag.
After the event the VFW will host a cookout with hot dogs and hamburgers at their post, 2815 West Seventh St.
There will also be free food from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. for veterans and active duty military at the Elks Lodge, 218 Sycamore St.
Monday at 10:30 a.m. there will be a Memorial Day ceremony at the Portales Cemetery at Third and Kilgore streets presented by American Legion Post 31 and VFW Post 9515. A pulled-pork sandwich lunch will be served at the VFW post afterward, 316 South Main St., Portales.
Clovis and Portales veterans organizations began the Memorial Day weekend by visiting area cemeteries and placing American flags on the graves of military personnel.
As Monday is a federal holiday a number of offices will be closed.
U.S. post offices will be closed so there is no mail service on Monday. Banks will be closed as will city, county, state and federal offices.
According to Memorial Day facts posted on the History Channel website, the first Memorial Day was May 5, 1866, in Waterloo, N.Y.
After the American Civil War many states that fought on the Union side of the conflict held Decoration Day to honor those who died in the conflict. The first Decoration Day was May 30, 1868. The day was chosen as it was not an anniversary day of any battle in the conflict.
Decoration Day came to be known as Memorial Day. Originally the day honored those who died in the Civil War. After World War I those who died in that war were honored. Eventually all who died in any war the country was involved in were honored.