Veterans Square Readied for Memorial Day 2011 Festivities

For the second weekend in a row, community volunteers soaked, scrubbed and swept away a year's worth of neglect at Highland Park's Veterans Square Memorial at the intersection of York Blvd. and N. Figueroa St. to prepare the monument for Monday's Memorial Day Services.

Among those contributing to the clean-up were Richard Marquez, Trisha Gossett and Janet Dodson of the . They were joined by Tina Gulotta-Miller and Charles Miller of the , Tony Howard of American Legion Post 206 and local veterans Steve Kelleman and Henry Carillo.

The crew power washed away layers of graffiti, repaired the square's long inoperable fountain and planted rows of fresh flowers. Gossett said she planned to place more flowers around the square early Monday morning in advance of the Memorial Day services, which are sheduled to take place at 10:30 a.m.

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.