As a baby boomer who was always interested in history, I grew up with a great appreciation for military veterans.
It started with my own family, of course: My dad, three of my mother’s brothers, and my three great-uncles all served in WWII. Naturally, most of my dad’s friends were also veterans. One of my cousins is a veteran. During my newspaper career, and later on the docks, I worked with several Vietnam War veterans. The churches I’ve attended have included many veterans.
One of my favorite childhood memories is attending my Uncle Bill’s reunions with his shipmates. He and his brother Dick served on the repair ship USS Medusa, which was part of the Pacific Battle Fleet. They joined up prewar when the fleet was based in San Pedro; that’s what brought my mother here. The Medusa was at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and it served in the Pacific throughout the war. Throughout the `50s and `60s, crew members held reunions annually at Peck Park, and Uncle Bill, a lifelong bachelor, always took me along. Tubs of ice were filled with beer, along with sodas for the kids.
I reflect on this because another Veterans Day is upon us. I’ve written about many veterans here, but sadly, the WWII generation is almost all gone now. We commemorated the 80th anniversary of the end of the war this summer, so the math is pretty obvious. As of 2024, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs, there were only 66,143 WWII veterans left. All of the ones I’ve known have died except for Roy Jones of Rancho Palos Verdes, who is 99. It’s a fairly exclusive club, and I’d love to know if there are any other nonagenarians (or older) in San Pedro/RPV who served in WWII.
There are still more than a million Korean War veterans as of 2024, but as they age, the numbers dwindle quickly.
The number of Vietnam War veterans gets a little tricky. The VA counts anyone who served on active duty between November 1, 1955, and May 15, 1975 (more than nine million men and women), no matter where they served; 2,709,918 served in uniform “in country” (Vietnam).
Whether they were drafted or enlisted, you have to admire those who have served; they all sacrificed something. I’m not a veteran, but you don’t have to be one to consider anyone who fought in a war to be a hero. There are levels of heroism, of course; those who survived WWII, Korea, or Vietnam will be the first to say the real heroes are those who didn’t return.
San Pedro has had more than its share of heroes, but only a few have been recognized by the armed services for gallantry in combat. Two of those, both former boxers, fought together in Company H of the Army’s 23rd Infantry Regiment in one of the Korean War’s bloodiest battles, Heartbreak Ridge.
Manuel H. Flores, Jr. was a 20-year-old corporal on September 19, 1951, when overwhelming enemy numbers attacked his unit. After rescuing several wounded comrades, he led his squad in a fighting withdrawal. According to the citation for his Distinguished Service Cross, second only to the Medal of Honor, Flores “ordered his squad to move to safety and, resisting all of his comrades’ pleas to withdraw himself, he steadfastly remained at his post, delivering deadly accurate fire until his position was overrun and he was mortally wounded.”
Flores, who left San Pedro High early to join the Army, was buried at Calvary Cemetery in Los Angeles.
Two days before Flores’ heroics, Pfc. Celso M. Araiza, a 21-year-old machine gunner, volunteered to stay at his position and cover his unit’s withdrawal during a counterattack by a superior enemy force. His citation for the Silver Star says he “courageously exposed himself to the enemy fire and inflicted numerous casualties upon the hostile force.” Wounded in both legs, he “employed a heavy concentration of protective fire and refused to be evacuated until his comrades had successfully completed their withdrawal.”
Araiza, a native of Colton, was nicknamed “Sheik” as a hard-hitting lightweight boxer before the war. Returning to San Pedro, he became a longshoreman and died in 1979 at age 49.
Remember Araiza on November 11; remember Flores next Memorial Day. And when you see that old-timer proudly wearing a veteran cap, say, “Thanks for your service.” spt
Steve Marconi is a San Pedro native and a former columnist for the Daily Breeze for 20 years. He is also a retired longshoreman. He can be reached at spmarconi@yahoo.com.
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