Veterans Share Memories With New Generation

The hardened soldier showed off the sharpened bayonet used in World War II and the Japanese war flag he captured more than 50 years ago.

Then former Marine and Air Force pilot Roy Roush gave the wide-eyed students gathered before him his blessing for peace.

“I hope all you kids out here will never fight a war and you won’t have to go through that,” said Roush, a survivor of Guadalcanal and Saipan.

A few minutes later, Manuel Enerez, who lived through the Bataan death march, recounted his more than three years of suffering as a prisoner of war after being captured by the Japanese, and his own struggle after the conflict ended.

“I was afraid to tell people I was a prisoner of war because I thought I was a traitor,” Enerez said. “Today I owe so much to the American soldier that the only way I can repay is to keep the memories alive in my heart.”

Following the veterans’ speeches, students at Hollywood Beach Elementary School marched to the seashore a block away, led by the Oxnard High School band and color guard, the elementary school’s cheerleading squad and a procession of flags.

In memory of soldiers lost in past wars, students and scores of veterans placed flowers in the ocean to the sounds of “America the Beautiful” and the “Battle Hymn of the Republic.”

A ceremonial wreath was then thrown in the water, accompanied by a flyover by a World War II P-51 Mustang fighter and a C-130 cargo plane from the Channel Islands Air National Guard Base.

The outpouring of patriotism leading up to Veterans Day on Monday was not lost on students at Hollywood Beach Elementary.

“It’s a day to remember the veterans and recognize them for their bravery and courage,” said sixth-grader Destiny Wolfson, 11. “Lots of people come--it’s important to a lot of people.”

Eleven-year-old Nicole Durr added, “We want to honor them and show that we appreciate them.”

Trever Dinovitz, 10, a fifth-grader, and son of the ceremony’s organizer, Brandy Dinovitz, was among those who turned a spadeful of earth dedicating the school’s new Freedom Tree grove at Channel Islands Boulevard and Sunset Lane.

The grove of five evergreen trees is one of 16 planted across the globe in honor of U.S. servicemen. “It’s a tree planted for every armed service,” he said, referring to the four military branches and the Coast Guard.

Veterans were also impressed by students’ patriotism and the amount of gratitude shown by the youngsters for those who fought for their country.

“I think it’s great,” said S.F. “Ski” Milewski, who was there representing the Fleet Reserve Assn. of Port Hueneme. “At least it will teach the young people what the flag is and what it’s for.”