Al Hopson (Army Air Corps, WWII), David Perez (private
first-class, Army, WWII), Rick Noble (E-5 sergeant, Army
Rangers, Vietnam), Gary Doubledee (E-4 specialist, Army,
Vietnam), Mike Baker (Army, Vietnam), and Dean Kaufman
(E-4 specialist, Army, Gulf War).
One of the veterans I know sent me a list of local
veterans, one of whom is Bob Osborne. Osborne is a
Korean War army combat veteran. He is 85 years old.
I spoke with him on the phone and told him about my
project and he was willing to do an interview.
Suddenly I remembered an event from last year. It
was Memorial Day, and I was eating at Roger’s Diner in
Watsonville. In walked an old man with a T-shirt with an
American flag on it, and the shirt read, “Try to burn this flag.”
Then he turned around, and I saw his Korean War veteran
hat. The Korean War is referred to as the “forgotten war,” and
I thought he deserved some recognition. Because of this, his
T-shirt and the fact that it was Memorial Day, I knew I had
to shake his hand and thank him for his service, so I did.
I also complimented him on his shirt. He told me, “I never
get thanked by people your age, but it’s refreshing.”
I don’t know why, but that memory popped in my head
while I was on the phone with Bobby, so I asked him, “Hey
Bobby, you don’t happen to have a T-shirt that says, ‘try
to burn this flag’ do you?” He said, “Yes, I do. You don’t
happen to be the boy who shook my hand and thanked
me for my service at Roger’s Diner about a year ago, are
you?” I said “Yep, that was me.” It makes me really happy
that he remembered me, but also very sad. He should
have so many people thanking him that he wouldn’t
remember any of them.
Every step we take in a free society, every movement,
every breath was made possible by our veterans. Every
freedom we have has been fought, bled and died for. The
will to protect and preserve the ideas that shape us as
Americans must continue to live on and show as a shining
example for the whole world to see. We are a unique country
that was formed off of a reaction of oppressive government
rule, and we have successfully been consistent with those
values by being the strongest enemy of tyranny and biggest
preserver of freedom around the world.
There is nothing
that could sadden
me more than to see
our country become
alienated from these
unique and integral
values. War must be
avoided at all costs,
but we should always
be the first to sacrifice
when it’s needed to
en sure freedom. This
Army Air Corps soldier Al Hopson,18,
is why it is important
during WWII
to not just respect our
veterans, but to show
them that you respect
them. A WWII veteran
once told me “We
aren’t called the
greatest generation
because of what we
did. We were the
greatest generation
because of who we
were. We could not
have done what we
did if it weren't for our
values and patriotism.
And always remember
this Cyrus, we didn’t
Al Hopson, 95, and Cyrus Kamkar
fight for us, we fought
for you.” I will always remember that.
There is a quote that was found in a dead U.S. soldier’s
diary on the battlefield from WWI that always gives me the
chills: America must win this war. Therefore, I will work, I
will save, I will sacrifice, I will endure, I will fight cheerfully
and do my utmost, as if the issue of the whole struggle
depended on me alone.
Mount Madonna School is an independent, nonprofit
school serving students preschool through grade 12, and
is located on Summit Road, 20 minutes from Gilroy.
In March, United States service veterans gathered at MMS for a panel discussion attended by middle and high school students
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2018
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