Memorial Day Weekend Capped By Tributes To Soldiers, Barbecues And Beaches

Monday, May 28th 2007, 3:27 pm

By: News On 6

NEW YORK (AP) _ Veterans and active soldiers unfurled a 90-by-100-foot U.S. flag as the nation's top commander in the Middle East spoke to a Memorial Day crowd gathered in Central Park on Monday.

Navy Adm. William Fallon, commander of U.S. Central Command, said America should remember those whom the holiday honors.

``Their sacrifice has enabled us to enjoy the things that we, I think in many cases, take for granted,'' Fallon said.

Across the nation, flags snapped in the wind over decorated gravestones as relatives and friends paid tribute to their fallen soldiers.

Millions more kicked off summer with trips to beaches or their backyard grills.

AAA estimated 38 million Americans would travel 50 miles or more during the weekend _ up 1.7 percent from last year _ even with gas averaging $3.20 a gallon for self-service regular.

In the nation's capital, thousands of motorcycles driven by military veterans and their loved ones roared through Washington, D.C., to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. It was the 20th year the group, Rolling Thunder, has taken to the streets of the nation's capital in support of U.S. military members past and present.

President Bush spoke at nearby Arlington National Cemetery, honoring U.S. troops who have fought and died for freedom and expressing his resolve to succeed in the war in Iraq.

``From their deaths must come a world where the cruel dreams of tyrants and terrorists are frustrated and foiled _ where our nation is more secure from attack, and where the gift of liberty is secured for millions who have never known it,'' the president said.

Helen Velasquez stood over her husband's grave in Farmington, N.M., and said he never second guessed his decision to enlist in the Marines. Frank Velasquez, 47, was disabled and died in March.

``I think a lot of people don't think of it until someone they love passes away,'' she said. ``Sometimes I feel they're forgotten. I want them to know they're never forgotten.''

A Memorial Day tribute at Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery was marked with 1,200 new gravestones for Civil War veterans whose graves were recently rediscovered after a nearly five-year search. The cemetery, founded in 1838, is the burial place of nearly 600,000 people, including veterans from every American war, said Richard J. Moylan, its president.

Elsewhere, Alabama's Gulf Coast was once again packed with holidaygoers after the damage from hurricanes Ivan and Katrina in 2004 and 2005 kept the tourists away.

``It couldn't have been better _ use all the superlatives you want,'' said Johnny Fisher, general manager of Lucy Buffett's Lulu's at Homeport Marina in Gulf Shores. ``It was all perfect.''