Highland Park to Honor Veterans on Monday

American Legion Post 206 will host a Memorial Day Service to honor the area’s veterans on Monday, May 30 at 10:30 a.m. at the Veterans Square Memorial located at the intersection of York Blvd. and N. Figueroa Street.

During the ceremony, Commander David Bloom of American Legion Post 206 will honor Corporal Tibor Rubin, a Hungarian-born Holocaust survivor who later immigrated to the United States and served as a soldier in the Korean War.

President George W. Bush awarded Rubin the Medal of Honor for his service during the war on September 23, 2005.  In the citation that accompanied the medal, Rubin was noted for his decision to remain in a Chinese prison camp for three years, despite offers from his captors to be returned to his native Hungary. During his imprisonment, Rubin routinely risked his own safety to secure food and medicine for his fellow prisoners.

The ceremony will also feature presentations by police academy cadets from Luther Burbank Middle School and the raising of a brand new American Flag.

Tony Howard, of American Legion Post 206, said community members are encouraged not only to attend the ceremony, but to help clean and decorate the Veterans Square Memorial during preceding days.

Howard said that a group of volunteers will gather at the square for a clean up effort at 8 a.m. on Saturday, May 28.  Howard said more volunteers are welcomed participate in the clean up or to leave their own shrines to local veterans.

“It’s important to celebrate Memorial Day because this community has always had a strong connection to the military,” Howard said. “We have a lot of veterans, we have an American Legion Post. A lot of brave men and women gave their lives so we can have the freedoms we enjoy and we’ve got to celebrate them.”