Volunteers are being sought to help place small American flags on the gravesites of local veterans this weekend.

Placement of the flags is planned for Saturday, May 28 at 9 a.m. at the Oakdale Citizens Cemetery, corner of South Fifth Avenue and East J Street.

This is an annual effort to beautify the veterans’ graves ahead of the Memorial Day holiday.

Monday, May 30 will be observed as the Memorial Day holiday and members of the Escalon American Legion Post 263 – which includes members from Oakdale – will host a special Memorial Day service at Burwood Cemetery off River Road at 10 a.m. and later in the day, they will be at the Valley Home Cemetery (Memorial Park) off Lone Tree Road for a 1:30 p.m. service.

The local Oakdale VFW is not planning any service for that day, said officials.

Monday is a federal holiday, with schools closed, banks and post offices closed and city, state and federal offices closed. Oakdale City offices will be closed for the day as well. Businesses have the option of closing.

The long weekend holiday for Memorial Day is also considered the unofficial start of summer, and law enforcement officials will be out in force on the roadways, anticipating a higher rate of traffic for the weekend.

Meanwhile, Oakdale’s VFW Post is gearing up for the next of its monthly hamburger night fundraisers, with Wednesday, June 1 the date for the next event.

Hours are from 5:30 p.m. to about 8:30 p.m., at the Oakdale Saddle Club Rodeo Grounds clubhouse. Attendees can stay after eating to socialize.

All donations at the dessert table at the monthly dinner go to purchase wreaths for Wreaths Across America. The local VFW and Auxiliary’s goal is to have a wreath on every grave at the Santa Nella Veterans cemetery