By GERALD ISEDA
After a one-year hiatus due to COVID-19 restrictions, the 61st annual Bay Cities Japanese Community Joint Memorial Day Service will resume this year via livestream from Woodlawn Cemetery in Santa Monica on Monday, May 31, at 9 a.m.
Due to continuing local restrictions, only ministers, speakers and organizational representatives will be participating in person.
Venice Hongwanji Buddhist Temple is leading this year’s coordinated service. Ministers and representatives from Venice Free Methodist Church, West L.A. Buddhist Temple, West L.A. Holiness Church and West L.A. United Methodist Church will also participate in this multi-dimensional service, along with representatives from Boy Scout Troop 764, Venice Japanese Community Center and West L.A.’s Japanese Institute of Sawtelle.
The Japanese American Memorial Monument was erected in 1959 as a place where Nikkei can recognize and honor our Issei pioneers, war heroes and other predecessors of Japanese ancestry. This annual event was supported by the Santa Monica Nikkei Hall Fund via the Asian Pacific Community Fund.
To join the Zoom meeting, the meeting ID is 832 6413 2336 and the passcode is 170272.
For dial-in only, find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kdvH3f4Y9V
We ask for your understanding in not attending the service in person. We look forward to future services where we can all attend in person together to pay our respects to our pioneers.