Memorial Day ceremonies in San Diego County are scheduled to continue today with a service at the Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, an event at the Alpine Community Center and a ceremony at Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial featuring a tribute to two former Navy SEALs killed in the attack on a U.S. consulate compound Benghazi.
The Memorial Day service and Day of Remembrance at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery is planned for 10 a.m.
Rear Adm. Dixon R. Smith, commander of the Navy Region Southwest, will deliver the Memorial Day address, San Diego Mayor Bob Filner will be the event's guest speaker and the Navy Band Southwest will play patriotic music.
The program will also include a reading of the Gettysburg Address, "Lament for a Soldier'' and General Order 11, issued in 1868 that called for decorating the graves of those who died in defense of the country, officials said.
Parking for the service sponsored by the Fort Rosecrans Memorial Day Committee will be in designated lots along Cabrillo Memorial Drive and a free shuttle service to the cemetery will be provided, officials said.
Veterans will also gather at the Alpine Community Center to share their stories and the Buecker Squadron will conduct a fly over in vintage WWII planes.
The 11 a.m. event, which will also include food and music, is being held to thank veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country and to thank the community for supporting the creation of the Alpine Veterans Wall of Honor at the community center and constructed from 442 tiles representing military veterans and those currently serving.
"Appreciation is a powerful sentiment; it makes us stand up to honor those who have made a difference,'' Wall of Honor Committee Chairman Dan Foster said. "We know our fellow Americans who gave everything made a difference. But, on this day, we also acknowledge this wonderful community that made the Veterans Wall of Honor possible.''
At 2 p.m., the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial will host a Memorial Day ceremony, in which former Navy SEALs Glen A. Doherty of Encinitas and Tyrone S. Woods of Imperial Beach will be honored in a special plaque presentation.
Doherty and Woods were killed last year in the attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi while working as security officers, along with San Diego native Sean Smith. U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens was also killed in the attack.
The keynote speaker for the event will be Rear Adm. Sean Pybus, commander of the Naval Warfare Command.
