6 days ago
San Francisco Honors Fallen Service Members at Presidio Memorial Day Commemoration
Service members and families gathered at the historic Presidio overlooking the San Francisco Bay on Memorial Day, May 26, as flags waved, tributes were paid, and tears fell in remembrance of the nation's fallen service members.
The city held its 158th annual Memorial Day Commemoration Ceremony at San Francisco National Cemetery, the first national cemetery established on the West Coast.
A crowd of veterans and their families gathered on the ceremony grounds atop San Francisco's Presidio, a former military post turned heart of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
To the right were 30,000 headstones laid with red, white, and blue flags on a hill sloping up to the little white Presidio Chapel, a nearly hundred-year-old symbol of faith and heritage. To the left was an open view of the San Francisco Bay, with the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz Island, and hills in the distance.
Skies turned from a misty gray to sunny and blue as the commemoration proceeded through the morning.
An American flag, standing tall in the center of the crowd, was raised to full staff in celebration at the close of the ceremony.
Related Stories
5/26/2025
5/26/2025
Guest speakers paid tribute to those who died in service to the country.
Among the speakers was the mother of former West Point Cadet Peter Zhu, who passed away at age 21. His family members, known as a Gold Star family because they lost an immediate relative in service, were in attendance.
His mother, Monica, read a poem she wrote following the passing of her son.
Peter Zhu excelled during his time at West Point, and as the president of the Cadet Medical Society, he was on his way to achieving his dream of being a doctor in the U.S. Army Medical Corps.
His mother's poem brought tears to the eyes of many as she expressed the pain of being without her late son. Silence fell across the crowd, and a service member came up to hold her as she spoke.
'It's a lifetime journey. The grieving never ends as long as I live. But I want to do what I can to make an impact in my community and carry on Peter's legacy,' Monica Zhu told The Epoch Times.
She said that while a loved one lost in the armed forces can never be replaced, she hopes that other Gold Star families can find love and support from one another this Memorial Day.
She said it was an honor to represent other Gold Star families at the ceremony and that they share the same pain.
'I feel that if I hide, if I don't come out, it doesn't do any justice to our children,' she said.
In addition to the Zhu family, current and former service members shared their own stories and paid tribute at the ceremony.
'It's always an honor to be part of this event,' Colonel James J. Handura, commander of the South Pacific Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), told The Epoch Times.
The experience was especially powerful for Handura, he said, because he personally knew many men and women who died in service.
He loves the idea of families coming together to enjoy some good food and barbecue. However, he also hopes people will spend a little bit of time giving thanks as part of their quality time together.
A U.S. flag waves in San Francisco National Cemetery on May 26, 2025.
Conner Lee/The Epoch Times
Service members also gave musical performances at the event. One of them was Senior Airman Grace Gilpatrick of the United States Air Force Band of the Golden West.
One Coast Guard member in the crowd stood up to sing the ceremony's final song loudly enough for all to hear, inspiring others to join in and close the ceremony in cheerful singing.
Moments like these made it an 'absolute pleasure and honor' for Gilpatrick to perform, she said.
All the honors meant a great deal to veterans in attendance like John Twaddell, who served in the Navy from 1972 to 1980.
This was Twaddell's first ceremony at the Presidio, and he considered it 'the most powerful recollection of [his] own personal experience and losses.'
'It really came home to me this time,' he told The Epoch Times.
He reflected on his journey from the tail end of the Vietnam War to now, pausing to remember a time when he was not so proud to be a veteran.
For Twaddell, it took opening up to a community of other former service members to bring him out of what he called a cocoon, one that he said many from the Vietnam War era are still buried in.
He found hope through the Cathay Post, the first Chinese American Legion of the United States.
There, he was able to finally connect with other veterans who had been feeling what he felt, who suffered and experienced the same losses he did. Twaddell said that connection made him feel more human again and prouder of his country.
'There was a period of my life where I didn't have that pride,' he said.
Now, he said, 'I'm very proud to have been a service member.'
Monica Zhu (L) and California Attorney General Rob Bonta (Front, 3rd L) at the San Francisco Memorial Day Commemoration Ceremony on May 26, 2025.
Conner Lee/The Epoch Times
At the ceremony, the story from the Gold Star family moved him deeply.
He spoke about how the family's loss only brought them together more strongly, and he lamented the fact that families in today's society are missing what he considers the same cultural connection.
Families today, Twaddell said, are missing the bond he saw in the Gold Star families, but he remains hopeful that the American spirit is here to stay.
His closing message to families across the United States this Memorial Day is that they should not be afraid.
'There's always tomorrow; there's always veterans and service members who are going to be there standing up for them. Tomorrow's a better day,' he said.
