U.S. citizens living in Costa Rica are set to observe Memorial Day on Monday, honoring the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces.

The Marine Corps League Costa Rica and American Legion Post CR10 will co-host a Memorial Day ceremony beginning at 11 a.m. Monday, May 25, at Hope Cemetery (La Esperanza) in the canton of Escazú, in San José.

Veterans will mark the occasion with the traditional Scarlet Rose Ceremony, during which the names of fallen service members will be read aloud and roses placed on the Remembrance Stone in their honor.

The Marine Corps League Costa Rica Fellowship, founded in 2010, is welcoming new members. The organization includes veterans of the Vietnam War, Gulf War, Iraq War and Afghanistan War, along with veterans from other branches of the U.S. military. Membership is also open to local law enforcement officers and first responders. More information is available through the Marine Corps Warriors League Costa Rica website.

The American Legion Post CR10 is welcoming veterans from all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces. The organization accepts former and current U.S. military personnel who wish to continue serving their communities through scholarship programs and assistance for local veterans and their families in need. More information about joining the organization is available on the American Legion Post CR10 website.

At the Embassy of the United States grounds in San José, the Peace Garden was decorated in memory of those who lost their lives in service to the United States.

In observance of Memorial Day, the embassy and its Consular Section will remain closed on Monday. Regular office hours will resume on Tuesday, May 26, from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Memorial Day is observed annually on the last Monday in May. Americans traditionally visit cemeteries and memorials to honor fallen military personnel, while volunteers place U.S. flags on graves at national cemeteries across the country.

The holiday traces its origins to May 5, 1866, the aftermath of the U.S. Civil War. The village of Waterloo, New York, is officially recognized by the U.S. government as the birthplace of the Memorial Day holiday, having hosted the first formal, community-wide observance.

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