Hundreds of volunteers with Flags for Fallen Vets helped place flags on every single grave marker of fallen vets and their family members for the weekends events. Amber Schoenrock, lead coordinator for the organization, said this year they placed 109,000 flags costing $10,000 to do. They rely on volunteers to help them place the flags as well as pick up the flags after the long holiday.

Memorial Day is a day to honor and remember those who have died while serving in the United States military. It’s observed on the last Monday of May and is a time for reflection and remembrance. It began as a way to decorate the graves of Civil War soldiers.

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In the morning of April 29, 1975, a massive evacuation exercise began in Saigon, which ended almost 24 hours later. About 6,500 people had been airlifted by the end of the exercise, including nearly 900 Americans. Hours later, on April 30, Saigon fell, and with it came the end of the Vietnam War.

This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

On their way to a ranger-led Winter Ecology field trip to Rocky Mountain National Park, a group of 17 sixth graders from Boulder’s Shining Mountain Waldorf School delivered hand-made cards of appreciation to park rangers.

The students’ gesture comes on the heels of federal employees across the country, including National Park Service employees, being laid off and having funding cut in an attempt to reduce federal spending, led by the recently formed Department of Government Efficiency.

One card, written by twelve-year-old Annalise Sturgis, read “What you do is really important and I want you to know that we are very grateful for all the effort you put into the work that we need so much.”

After stopping by the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center, delivering the cards and visiting with park staff, the students strapped on snowshoes and embarked on their multi-hour trip where park rangers Belen del Valle Coello and Caden Wilson led them up Bear Lake Trail. Along the way students learned about plants and animal identification, how they survive the high-alpine winter conditions, as well as how to safely navigate and minimize their impact on the landscape.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Stars are having fun on their way into the Oscars.

Best supporting actress nominee Ariana Grande, dressed in a baby pink gown with a tulle skirt, and Elle Fanning, in lacy white, held hands and laughed as they arrived.

Grande’s “Wicked” castmate Bowen Yang and his “Las Culturistas” podcast co-host Matt Rogers were all smiles, posing with lucky fans who secured seats in bleachers through lotteries. Dressed in florals, Jeff Goldblum — the Wizard of Oz himself — and his wife Emilie Livingston stopped to pose with U.S. Army members there to celebrate their 250th anniversary.

It wasn’t just human stars making their way through the sea of celebrities and photographers on the carpet: Filmmakers Nick Park, Richard Beek and Merlin Crossingham carried the Claymation stars of “Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl,” nominated for best animated feature. Animation director Nicolas Keppens wore a figurine of the character Bart from his nominated short “Beautiful Men” in a pink baby carrier on his chest.

Diane Warren, nominated for her 16th Oscar for her song “The Journey” from “The Six Triple Eight” wore a jacket adorned with glittery music notes. She lifted up her collar to reveal a phrase printed on the inside: “Make it (expletive) Happen.”

AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr contributed to this report.

NEW YORK (AP) — Ariana Grande did her Glinda proud in a pale pink stunner, and her “Wicked” bestie Cynthia Erivo did Elphaba proud in deep forest green on the Oscars carpet as high glam took over Sunday. Others went for bold red, classic black and pops of pink.

Grande wore a look from the Schiaparelli spring-summer 2025 collection. It was a perfect Glinda ode with no straps and a structured skirt that fell into airy pleats. Erivo, always a fashion darling, wore custom Louis Vuitton with a high triangular collar and huge shoulders, her signature long nails the usual on-point complement.

Metallics also had a strong showing in body-con looks: Demi Moore in sexy silver custom Giorgio Armani Privé and Mindy Kaling in a silver gown with chunky embellishment among them. Emma Stone also went for slinky silver. Felicity Jones was in steel gray worthy of her film, “The Brutalist.” And Selena Gomez was a bombshell in a Ralph Lauren look of full crystals in metallic pink.

Lupita Nyong’o, a fashion “it” girl from her start, wore white custom Chanel with more than 22,000 pearls.

And the men? It was a custom Givenchy soft yellow trouser and short jacket leather combo for Timothée Chalamet, never afraid to go in his own fashion direction. Jeff Goldblum added a floral arrangement to his off-white tuxedo jacket lapel. Orchids adorned the “Wicked” star’s Prada look. Goldblum walked the Prada runway in 2022.

Color trends: Red, red and more red

Red endured at the Oscars as a strong trend. Among walkers wearing the hue: Zoe Saldaña chose a deep burgundy strapless tiered look by Saint Laurent and Storm Reid wore a bright shortie dress with a long cape.

Others stuck to black, including Marlee Matlin in Yara Shoemaker Couture and Coco Jones in sexy Coach, a custom look using vintage fabric. Yasmin Finney also chose black, peaking out from tall black feathers attached to the top of her dress. Fernanda Torres, the “I’m Still Here” star, stood out in body-skimming black feathers. The look was Chanel Haute Couture.

Elle Fanning, meanwhile, was the first person to don Sarah Burton’s Givenchy. It was a classic Hollywood white gown with a sweetheart neckline and black belt with long tails.

Julianne Hough kicked things off in an elegant light beige ethereal look straight off the Christian Dior spring 2025 runway. Joan Chen also went fairy-like in green chartreuse, an off-shoulder number from the Elie Saab resort 2025 collection.

Some celebs added messaging to ensembles

Swedish singer and actor Kayo Shekoni lifted up her black heel to reveal the words “free Congo” on the red carpet, advocating for the conflict-ridden African nation.

“Conclave” writer Peter Straughan showed his support for Ukraine with a Ukrainian flag pin accent on his tuxedo.

“Just to say, let’s not turn our backs on Ukraine,” he told Variety’s Marc Malkin.

The pin carries extra significance after a tense meeting unfolded between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House with President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance on Friday.

The team behind best documentary nominee “Porcelain War,” the story of Ukrainian artists who trade their paintbrushes for guns to fight against the Russian invasion, also sported Ukrainian flag pins.

“The Brutalist” actor Guy Pearce showed up wearing a “FREE PALESTINE” pin featuring a white dove and a gold branch. The award show comes as Israel stopped the entry of all food and other supplies into Gaza on Sunday. Pearce, who has expressed his support throughout the awards season with various pins, said “it’s the least we can do.”“I’m just always on the case of trying to recognize Palestine and it having as much support as it possibly can because it’s what it absolutely needs.