Memorial Day Celebration Thoughtful, Reverent in Rancho Cordova

The World War II era music was lively and the faces of decorated veterans were beaming with pride; the message, however, was sobering for the hundreds that attended Rancho Cordova's fourth annual Memorial Day celebration on Monday.

The VA Hospital in Mather, Calif. has been the location for Veteran's Day and Memorial Day events since 2006. Council Member Robert McGarvey took the throng of attendees back in time to the very first Veteran's Day event at that site.

"It was a drizzly day and we had about a hundred people," he said. "We didn't have the band, we didn't have the choir. I can't tell you how pleased I am and how proud I am of everyone here."

Mayor Ken Cooley also reflected on how the location has evolved since that first event five years ago. "On that day we set aside a plot of ground, and what a beautiful plot of ground it is," he said. The once-grassy site is now an elaborate plaza featuring a large sculpture and 1,941 bricks commemorating veterans and loved ones. "We've come a long way. This is a place where we think of our veterans who gave their lives for our way of life."

State Senate Pro-Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) made an appearance before the crowd and stressed the importance of preserving Memorial Day as a day of remembrance. "This holiday must mean more than a day off," said Steinberg. "New generations must understand that freedom and opportunity are not a given."

Congressman Dan Lungren (R-Gold River) echoed Steinberg's sentiments. "Today we can make an exact accounting of one thing," he said, "and that is the cost of freedom." Lungren spoke of his father's experiences in Normandy and his father's wish to "be known as a Captain in the United States Army Medical Corps" when he died.

The most illustrative speech, however, came from Sergeant First Class Kelly Hughes, who told the event's attendees about the sacrifice Airman First Class Raymond Losano made to protect his country. Losano, he said, was stationed in Afghanistan when a firefight erupted in 2003.

Though he was under heavy fire, Hughes said Losano continued to call airstrikes and protect Medi-Vac units. "My crew and I had no idea that the man we heard on the radio...was bleeding out on the battlefield," Hughes said. The Arlington National Cemetery's website said Losano was awarded a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star posthumously for his actions the day he died.

Hughes urged the listeners to remember what past and present soldiers have sacrificed to keep their loved ones safe. "The battlefronts are different and the weapons have changed, but the fight is the same," he said. "To protect our freedom at home, we must promote freedom throughout the world."