Seasonal & Holidays

Photos: Americans Observe Memorial Day Weekend

The country rises from the pandemic to honor and commemorate Memorial Day weekend.

Peggy Newell's profile picture
Peggy Newell, Patch StaffVerified Patch Staff Badge
|
A U.S. Marine Corps member who wanted to remain anonymous salutes veterans Monday at the Los Angeles National Cemetery in Los Angeles.
A U.S. Marine Corps member who wanted to remain anonymous salutes veterans Monday at the Los Angeles National Cemetery in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

ACROSS AMERICA — Memorial Day weekend was one of the first holidays since the beginning of the pandemic where Americans could safely reunite with loved ones to observe a holiday in a normal manner.

Now that COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted, air travel has increased significantly, beaches are packed and people are more eager than ever to be outside. If anything, this long holiday weekend truly showed the first glimpse of what the country will look like in a post-pandemic world.

Check out the photos below to see how people across America celebrated Memorial Day weekend:

Find out what's happening in Across Americafor free with the latest updates from Patch.

People make their way through Love Field airport Friday in Dallas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Traveling with their grandmother and mothers, Karter Morrow, 2, and cousin Gracie Jones, 3, stand together as as they wait to check in for their flight to Long Beach from Love Field airport Friday in Dallas. According to the kids' grandmother, this is their first trip since the pandemic began over a year ago. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Holiday traffic builds Friday on Interstate 476 ahead of the Memorial Day weekend in Springfield, Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
People crowd the Santa Monica Pier on Saturday in Santa Monica, California. Californians headed to campgrounds, beaches and restaurants over the long holiday weekend as the state prepared to shed some of its coronavirus rules. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
People flock to Santa Monica Pier and Santa Monica beach on Sunday. (Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times)
Members of the Gaviola family visit the grave of their 24-year-old son, PFC Mikhail John Alvarez at the Los Angeles National Cemetery in Los Angeles, Monday, May 31, 2021. The annual Memorial Day commemoration was held with the public in attendance. Authorities said a huge American flag and several smaller flags were stolen from a Southern California veterans cemetery over the Memorial Day weekend. Les Melnyk, a spokesperson for the Department of Veterans Affairs' National Cemetery Administration, said the garrison flag at Los Angeles National Cemetery was reported stolen sometime late Sunday or early Monday. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
People watch hot air balloons during a "balloon glow" Sunday as part of Memorial Day weekend activities on the grounds of the National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Visitors walk along the boardwalk during Memorial Day at Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York. (Andrew Schwartz/Shutterstock)
Food trucks park along 14th Street in Washington, D.C., on Memorial Day. (Bryan Dozier / Shutterstock)
People float on inner tubes in a swimming pool at Kelly Park in Apopka, Florida, on Memorial Day. (Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/Shutterstock)

As coronavirus cases continue to decrease in the United States, people are enjoying holiday activities, many for the first time in over a year.

Sun, water and people are plentiful on South Beach during the Memorial Day weekend in Miami Beach, Florida. (Michele Eve Sandberg/Shutterstock)
A parade participant waves the American flag from atop a float as residents of Royal Oak, Michigan, line the streets of downtown Monday to view the Memorial Day Parade, an American tradition honoring fallen soldiers that originated in the years following the Civil War. (Adam J Dewey/NurPhoto/Shutterstock)
Military service members toast over the grave of a fallen soldier at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day in Arlington, Virginia. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Andrew Weston touches the gravestone of his uncle, U.S. Army Vietnam War veteran Thomas Shaun Monahan, on Memorial Day at the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood, Illinois. (AP Photo/Shafkat Anowar)
U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Tim Chambers salutes as participants in the "Rolling to Remember" motorcycle rally ride past during the annual motorcycle parade Sunday ahead of Memorial Day in Washington, D.C.. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

The Associated Press contributed to this post.

Find out what's happening in Across Americafor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

More from Across America