Today is Memorial Day, the federal holiday where U.S. men and women who have died in military service are remembered. Federal and state offices are closed, as well as post offices, schools, financial markets, and banks. Alternate side of the street parking rules are suspended and mass transit is running on weekend schedules (though there's additional weekend service on some lines, like the LIRR).

Mayor Bloomberg will be speaking at the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument in Riverside Park (at 89th Street) at 10 a.m. There are also a number of parades in the five boroughs (do a search for "Memorial Day Parade" here). The Daily News reports that one parade held in Greenpoint over the weekend only "drew a sparse crowd"—92-year-old World War II veteran and Grand Marshal Pasquale Sparano reflected, "Years ago, Memorial Day, my god, there were flags all over. It was wonderful!"

The Post reprints William Shakespeare's St. Crispin's Day speech from "Henry V" in its editorial sections while the NY Times' editorial notes, "Every gravestone in every cemetery is a milestone for those who are gone and all of us who mourn their passing. Time may ease the sense of loss somewhat, but the knowledge that so much time has passed is another loss in itself."