The price of going somewhere this Memorial Day weekend is up. Gas is topping $4 a gallon and a major airline wants to charge you $15 to check a bag.

But then the cost of staying home for Memorial Day is up, too. The ingredients of a backyard barbecue are up 6 percent over last year.

However, there is one constant in Memorial Day — its purpose. That remains unchanged and it's free — remembering and honoring those who have died in our nation's service.

The president's Memorial Day Proclamation calls on all of us to observe a National Moment of Remembrance. At 3 p.m. today, all Americans are asked to put the memorial back in Memorial Day by taking a moment to honor the memory of those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

And there are many who feel the holiday has strayed from that purpose and instead of an official day of remembrance and mourning, it's the semi-official kickoff to vacation season.

Memorial Day, it is believed, lost something vital in 1971 when Congress moved it to the last Monday in May from May 30, the day it was first observed in 1868 when Ulysses Grant attended a ceremony at Arlington National Ceremony, a presidential custom observed ever since.

The day was traditionally a subdued observance devoted to the cleaning and decorating of the graves of the Civil War dead, hence its original name, Decoration Day.

People who believe it should return to those origins have organized a petition drive to restore Memorial Day to May 30. One who does is Sen. Daniel Inouye of Hawaii, a World War II veteran, who since has faithfully introduced a bill to that effect in every new Congress since 1989. However, the three-day weekend is now permanently engraved in the American calendar and that won't change.

But it is not asking a lot — indeed, it is asking what is rightfully due — to pause during the three days, especially on Monday, to honor and reflect on the more than 43 million who have served in our military in a long distinguished line going back to the American Revolutionary War and to the more than 1 million who have died in that service.

Have a great Memorial Day and do thank those who brought it to you.

Memorial Day

Today's observances:

Camarillo

— 11 a.m. at Conejo Mountain Memorial Park, 2052 Howard Road, featuring keynote by Lt. Jeffery E. Turner.

Fillmore

— 11 a.m. at Bardsdale Cemetery, 1698 S. Sespe St., keynote by Ret. Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Roy Nichols.

Moorpark

— 8 a.m. Veterans' Memorial, corner of Los Angeles and Moorpark avenues; 10 a.m. at the Veterans' Memorial Grove in Poindexter Park.

Ojai

— Noon at Libbey Bowl, 200 S. Signal St., featuring Air National Guard Band from 146th Airlift Wing; U.S. casket flags; World War II memorabilia.

Oxnard

— 10 a.m. at American Legion Post 48, 2639 Wagon Wheel Road. Speakers: Lt. Cmdr. James Watts, Mayor Tom Holden and Post 48 commander Steve Weber.

Piru

— 9 a.m. at Piru Cemetery, 3580 Center St. Keynote speech by Jay C. Wood of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9637; honor guard.

Santa Paula

— 10:30 a.m. at the Pierce Brothers cemetery, 380 Cemetery Road, at the Grand Army of the Republic Monument; Isbell Middle School Band.

Simi Valley

— 10 a.m. at Pioneer Cemetery, 1461 Thompson Lane, honoring families of four servicemen killed in Iraq.

— 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 480 Sinaloa Road, free lunch for veterans and their families.

Ventura

— 10:45 a.m. at Ivy Lawn Memorial Park, 5400 Valentine Road, wreath tribute; 2 p.m., a service honoring those who served but were buried without a military funeral.

Westlake Village

— 10:30 a.m. concert; 11 a.m. service at Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Memorial Park and Mortuary, 5600 Lindero Canyon Road. Music, flyover; families of two servicemen killed in Iraq will be recognized.