Veterans honored in ceremony
By Tom Harshbarger
Daily Forty-Niner
Joseph Rabe remembers when a woman spit
on him for being a veteran.
During an on-campus celebration of Veterans
Day on Thursday, the Cal State Long Beach student recalled what happened
to him when he returned from Vietnam in 1970.
"I traveled through Los Angeles International
Airport, and I remember a young woman walking up to me," said Rabe, now
a lieutenant with the Long Beach Police Department.
"She smiled and spit on my uniform.
That brought me back to reality.
"I attended Long Beach City College, and
in 1970 one did not stand out on a college campus and celebrate Veterans
Day. But today is 1999, and as a veteran I am truly grateful to have this
recognition for our veterans."
In remembrance of these veterans, ROTC
cadets at CSULB hosted a ceremony at Brotman Hall.
An ROTC honor guard, decked in green dress
uniforms, lowered the U.S., California and MIA/POW flags to half-staff
as a trumpeter played taps.
Ornate wreaths of red, white and blue flowers
were placed at the bottoms of the two flagpoles.
"Since our country's founding, more than
40 million Americans have served in uniform," said Lt. Col. Jerry Pearce,
CSULB ROTC commander, to about 50 veterans, faculty, students and staff.
"They form a line of honor that stretches
across our nation's history."
Cadet Capt. Ricardo Fregoso, ROTC public
affairs officer, coordinated the event.
He said that once the cadets decided to
have the POW/MIA ceremony Sept. 17, they realized they wanted to do something
for Veterans Day as well.
"I'm hoping this is going to be just the
beginning of the new generation honoring the military community on campus,"
Fregoso said.
"On Veterans Day we need to honor all the
soldiers from all the [military] branches on campus.
Because of them, we're here and we're free."
Though Rabe was a little nervous when first
asked to speak, he became enthusiastic when he met the ROTC students.
Rabe, who now serves as an intelligence
officer in the Army Reserve, added that he was pleased to see other students
showing respect for the ceremony.
"I think it's right that we honor people
who give themselves to a goal, a sacrifice for the betterment of others,"
he said.
"I realize that unless good people do deeds
that inspire us all, no one will step forward when we need them to and
take the hard road when we need them to do that," he said. |
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