Scouts Place 3,600 U.S. Flags on Graves to Honor American War Dead

—Written by Bay City News Service

Members of local Boy and Girl Scouts troops gathered at Oak Hill Memorial Park in San Jose this morning to place 3,600 small American flags on the graves of military veterans for a 95th annual Memorial Day observance.

The ceremony honored veterans of American wars buried within six sections of the cemetery, including two plots for Union soldiers from the Civil War and one plot representing the Spanish American War, according to the United Veterans Council of Santa Clara County.

Today's service, hosted by the veterans council, is the 95th annual Memorial Day rite at Oak Hill, which began in 1839 and is the oldest secular cemetery in California, according to the cemetery's website.

To honor veterans, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority ordered drivers of approximately 150 buses and 20 light-rail trains in service today to stop in a "national moment of remembrance" at 3 p.m., VTA spokeswoman Brandi Childress said.

VTA bus drivers will pull over and light rail engineers are to stop at the nearest station and "make a brief announcement in remembrance of those who gave their lives that we will be honoring them" for one minute, Childress said.

At California's Great America amusement park in San Jose, operators hoisted a 20-foot-long American flag this morning at the entrance and placed two 20-foot banners with pictures of veterans next to the park's double-deck carousel, park spokesman Roger Ross said.

For Memorial Day, the park offered veterans free all-day admission passes and let them buy up to six tickets for family and friends at $19.99 each instead of the $59.99 price for general admission, Ross said.

"We have free tickets for all military personnel, anyone who has ever served," Ross said. "We have (no discounts) that are cheaper than for our vets."

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