by Eugen Andres
Why is Veterans’ Day worth celebrating? Most of us are very detached from our armed forces. We may see the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan on TV. We may notice our volunteers’ photos; names on the lists of obituaries. We may have seen the movie, “Hurt Locker,” which shows how the army deals with those deadly IEDS. But beyond that, most of us today do not have a personal involvement with our armed forces. We forget what previous generations have dealt with to preserve our nation.
For those of us who have low bar numbers, there is a higher probability we have served in the armed services. Since the draft ceased in 1973, most aspiring lawyers have not volunteered for the military.
But, because of the draft, I chose to attend college at UCLA on a NROTC scholarship. I had to take three units of Naval Science every semester, take a cruise every summer and was commissioned as an Ensign upon graduation in 1961.
Once I was commissioned, I served for two years on the U. S. Sproston DD-577 and for two years on the USS Orleck DD-886. Both ships were based in the Pacific.
As a young man on these ships I was given a lot of responsibility and worked long hours.
During this time in the ’60s the Cuban missile crisis took place and the Vietnam War was just getting started.
While I was never in harm’s way on the two destroyers I served, I did get a taste of what it is like to be part of the U. S. military.
When I read the encoded messages that were being sent during the Cuban missile crisis, as our ship was patrolling off Vladivostok, I knew we were close to a major war with the Soviet Union which fortunately was avoided.
Our ship arrived in the Asia Theatre a week after the Gulf of Tonkin incident that escalated the Vietnam War. I spent the next year in the South China Sea as our ship escorted aircraft carriers that were flying air strikes against North Vietnam.
Since resigning my commission in 1965, I entered the world of law and have not really been connected with the military other than to attend ship reunions and to join the Newport Beach American Legion.
When I think of Veterans’ Day my most poignant recollection was my visit years ago to the military cemetery at Normandy, France. The cemetery was above the steep cliffs overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. There was a beautiful blue sky the day I was there. The grounds were quite expansive and they were meticulously manicured. On these beautiful grounds was a sea of identical crosses. The crosses stretched as far as I could see. On each cross was the name of a U. S. serviceman. To stand there and look at this sight where thousands of young Americans are buried brought a chill down my spine and a tear to my eye. There was nothing to say but only to reflect on the size and scope of the D-Day sacrifice these men made when they struggled ashore in an attempt to end World War II.
A few years ago I had an opportunity to get involved in a project to help educate the students at Douglas MacArthur Jr. High School about their school’s namesake. My son, Charlie, has taught at MacArthur Jr. High for ten years. I have encouraged him to go to a school assembly in the first person and educate them as to what contribution MacArthur had made, so the students would understand why their school was so named. Of course, he declined. So I told him if I do the first presentation, will you do future presentations? He agreed. Hearing that, I got out a copy of “America’s Caesar” by William Manchester and started studying. I went to military second-hand stores to get the proper uniform, and on November 16, 2007, I appeared at MacArthur Jr. High School as the General to celebrate Veterans’ Day and the 25th anniversary of the school’s opening. I was in full uniform and arrived in a 1955 Citron sedan with five star flags on the front fenders. Then, I gave a twenty minute talk about MacArthur’s life in the first person.
The whole experience was most interesting. I learned what a brilliant, but sometimes arrogant man MacArthur was. I learned how many people had great respect for him. He was a key player in World War I, World War II, and the Korean War.
The students at the Jr. High School were most interested. My son later told me he heard one student ask another: “Is that really General MacArthur?” (MacArthur died in 1964.)
During our adult lifetimes the world has been a relatively peaceful period. It has not always been that way. The military has been crucial to our country’s role as a world leader.
So, why is Veterans’ Day worth celebrating? It is worth celebrating in respect for the men and women who have served and sacrificed for our country, for our safety, and our way of life. It is important to take a moment to realize how much we owe to our veterans and to appreciate how much they have contributed to our current peace and prosperity.
Eugen Andres practices law in Santa Ana with the firm of Andres & Andres. His practice consists of representing plaintiffs with an emphasis on professional malpractice cases. Mr. Andres was OCBA President in 1982.