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Photos: Somber and silent | Veterans Day in the COVID era

Jeff Cooper, president of Culver City Exchange, places a ribbon on each flag with the name of a veteran.
Jeff Cooper, president of Culver City Exchange, places a ribbon on each flag with the name of a veteran for a display called “Tribute to Heroes” to mark Veterans Day along Overland Avenue in Culver City on Wednesday.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
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Veterans Day has its roots in a proclamation issued by President Woodrow Wilson in November 1919, a year after World War I ended, designating Nov. 11 as Armistice Day. States soon started declaring Nov. 11 a legal holiday. Congress made it a federal holiday in 1938, dedicated to the cause of world peace. In 1954, Armistice Day became Veterans Day and the focus became honoring U.S. veterans of all wars.

In the COVID-19 era, however, the Veterans Day holiday means no crowded parades and few ceremonies.

Los Angeles

A lone American flag catches the last rays of light as the sun sets on the Los Angeles National Cemetery.
(Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times)

Culver City

U.S. National Guardsman Ryan Cho visits a Veterans Day display in Culver City.
National Guardsman Ryan Cho, who recently came back from a tour in Afghanistan, visits the “Tribute to Heroes” Veterans Day display.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
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Venice

A mural on Pacific Avenue in Venice features the names of the some of MIA Vietnam veterans.
A mural on Pacific Avenue in Venice features the names of some of the 2,273 Vietnam veterans who remain listed as missing in action. The mural is sponsored by the National Veterans Foundation.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Santa Monica

Patriotic display on the Ferris wheel at the Santa Monica Pier.
The Ferris wheel at Santa Monica Pier features a patriotic display in honor of Veterans Day.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

Riverside

American flags honoring veterans at gravesites at Riverside National Cemetery.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

Los Angeles

Julie Robinson brought over 100 flags to place on grave markers to honor Veterans Day at Los Angeles National Cemetery.
Julie Robinson, 56, who served in the Air Force in the 1980s, brought more than 100 flags to place on veterans’ grave markers to honor Veterans Day at Los Angeles National Cemetery.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Palmdale

Colleen Metzger folds one of 2,020 American flags at the Palmdale Healing and Honor Field at Pelona Vista Park in Palmdale
Volunteer Colleen Metzger folds one of 2,020 American flags— to mark the year 2020 — honoring veterans at the Palmdale Healing and Honor Field at Pelona Vista Park in Palmdale.
(Brian van der Brug /Los Angeles Times)

Murrieta

A family reads a soldier's placard at the Field of Honor on Veterans Day in Murrieta.
Miles Covington,10, put his hand on his mom, Jessica Matthews, with his sister, Mya Covington, 11, of Temecula while reading a soldier’s placard at the Field of Honor on Veterans Day in Murrieta.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Santa Ana

Tommy Cota takes photos of the "Among Heroes" veterans memorial mural outside La Chiquita Grocery in Santa Ana.
Tommy Cota, a pastor of Hope Alive Church in Santa Ana, takes photos of the “Among Heroes” veterans memorial mural that honors the military service of nearly 200 local Mexican Americans outside La Chiquita Grocery in Santa Ana. “It really highlights the Chicano and Hispanic heritage and all men and women of color who fought for our freedom,” Cota said. “Never forget. This building is a staple in Santa Ana. It highlights how we as a community honor those who fought for our liberties and freedoms.”
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Virginia

President Trump participates in a wreath-laying ceremony on Veterans Day at Arlington National Cemetery.
President Trump participates in a wreath-laying ceremony on Veterans Day at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va.
(Patrick Semansky / Associated Press)

Hollywood

Levi Tinker places U.S. flag on Humphrey Bogart's square outside TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.
Levi Tinker, theater operations manager at Hollywood’s TCL Chinese Theatre, adds a salute to Humphrey Bogart’s square featuring his handprints and footprints. Bogart was a Navy veteran.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

Pennsylvania

Flags are set into the ground at Mount Lebanon Cemetery in Pennsylvania.
Flags mark the graves of veterans at Mount Lebanon Cemetery in Mount Lebanon, Pa.
(Gene J. Puskar / Associated Press)

Massachusetts

Wind blows a dense field of flags in Quincy, Mass.
In advance of Veterans Day in Quincy, Mass., a field of flags honors those who served.
(Charles Krupa / Associated Press)

Washington, D.C.

A man in a face mask kneels and peers at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall.
A man visits the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington on Wednesday, finding where his brother’s name is engraved.
(Samuel Corum / Getty Images)
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New York

Women in an honor guard stand before wreaths at the Eternal Light Flagstaff in Madison Square Park in New York.
A Navy and Marine Corps honor guard joins in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Eternal Light Flagstaff memorial in Madison Square Park in New York. The ceremony preceded a quiet 100-vehicle Veterans Day Parade, with no spectators, maintaining a 101-year tradition.
(Mark Lennihan / Associated Press)
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