American sailors take a Memorial Day spin on Los Angeles' 6th Street Bridge

Street racers, social media influencers and lovebirds helped make the 6th Street Bridge a citywide gathering place after the redone viaduct first opened two years ago.

On Memorial Day, hundreds of sailors dressed in their bright white uniforms and caps took their turn on the bridge.

Los Angeles' newest landmark, connecting the city's Arts District and Boyle Heights, hosted a Fleet Week public event for about 500 sailors from the USS Carl Vinson, a nuclear-powered ship docked in San Diego.

There were performances by a 1st Division Marine Corps band, as well as speeches, including one by local councilman Kevin de León and a moment of silence for members killed in service. The sailors marched along the bridge before standing still.

Although the crowd was thin, later in the afternoon, sailors, many of whom are in their teens or early 20s, toured the closed bridge and food trucks serving pizza and street tacos.

A couple of sailors took turns riding a motorcycle across the bridge in the bright sunshine. At another time, one came out with a case of Coors under his arm and handed out cans.

For some members of the group, it was their first trip to Los Angeles. The sailors, in interviews with The Times, talked about eating in Little Tokyo or visiting a Korean spa.

Sailors from the USS Carl Vinson gather on the 6th Street Bridge.

(Dakota Smith/Los Angeles Times)

Carmela Bermudez, 19, a Navy technician, was sitting on a divider next to her boyfriend, Kadin Brewer, 18, who is also in the Navy. Brewer handles bombs and ammunition.

“The bridge looks amazing,” Brewer said. “The curves… and it's super long.”

“I would rather be here than on the boat,” Bermudez said.

Memorial Day is tied to the Civil War, first marked to remember the soldiers who lost their lives and then for broader remembrance of those who died in service to the nation.

The 6th Street Bridge event was one of many Fleet Week gatherings in Los Angeles neighborhoods this year, as part of the Navy's effort to publicize its work.

The viaduct will reopen in 2022, replacing a popular Streamline Moderne bridge that suffered from what engineers called “concrete cancer” that left it continually crumbling.

People in white uniforms form several lines on a road.

After the bridge reopened, drag racers and daredevils who climbed the bridge's arches sparked a series of negative headlines. Today, copper wire thefts in the area continue to be a problem.

At the same time, the bridge has continued to host cycling events and concerts.

Richard Meyer, deputy commander of the Navy's Third Fleet, called the bridge a “renewed icon” for Los Angeles during a brief speech.

He drew a contrast between the bridge and the ocean, noting that both are avenues for the transfer of commerce. The Navy, he added, helps protect ocean waterways.

Rows of sailors standing along a wide expanse.

The USS Carl Vinson will depart from the port of Los Angeles on Monday evening. The ship is named after U.S. Rep. Carl Vinson (D-Ga.), who helped expand the Navy and was an ardent segregationist.

Adalhi Montes, 34, traveled from Long Beach for the event but expressed surprise at the lack of attendance. “I honestly wish there were more people here,” Montes said.

Two friends, Kay Pegram, 70, and Leslie Carlson, 80, came out after hearing about the event on the radio. Her parents served in the military.

The friends live in Hollenback Palms, a retirement community in Boyle Heights, and refer to the bridge as “our bridge.” They frequently cross it to dine in the Arts District, they said.

Both said they are frustrated by thefts of copper wire on the bridge, which is no longer illuminated at night, as it was when it debuted two years ago.

“I wish they had more things on the bridge,” Carlson said, remembering the parties after the bridge reopened.

As the band finished “The Star-Spangled Banner,” Pegram yelled, “Come on, Dodgers!”