Marine Corps

The Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation held a ceremony honoring golf champion Dave Stockton and DineEquity Inc.'s Chairman and Chief Executive Julia Stewart. Stewart received the “Semper Fidelis Award,” which the foundation presents annually to an individual who has demonstrated the Marine Corps values of honor, courage, and patriotism in the business community. A nearly 40-year veteran of the restaurant industry, Stewart heads DineEquity Inc., the Glendale-based company that operates restaurants under the Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar and IHOP brands.

Sandra I. Deering, the daughter of Esmeralda M. Ayala of Glendale and niece of Elida Angulo of Pasadena, has been promoted to the rank of technical sergeant in the U.S. Air Force. In addition, she has been awarded the NATO and the Joint Service Achievement Medal. She is a 1985 graduate of Holy Family High School. Lance Corporal Daniel Guzman, the son of Guadalupe and Jose Guzman of Glendale, recently reported for duty with Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 26, Marine Air Group 26, Marine Corps.

Marine Corps recruiters at the San Gabriel Valley Pride event at Pasadena City College on Saturday didn't care whether the young men who lined up to test their strength were gay or straight. The Marines just wanted to see some pull-ups done properly: Place hands about shoulder width apart, palms facing away; pull upward until chin is over the bar and then slowly return to the hanging position. Repeat until the feet feel like concrete blocks and the biceps like rubber bands about to snap.

Jonathan Bass, a 2002 Newport Harbor High School graduate, was recently promoted to the rank of corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps. He also received a three-year Good Conduct Medal. Bass, who joined the Marines in August 2001 and graduated from boot camp in October 2002, works in aviation electronics in Beaufort, S.C., where he is stationed. Bass is the son of Jeff and Jeanine Bass of Costa Mesa. Raelyn Drury of Newport Beach is one of 78 Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation recipients from California for the 2005-06 academic year.

Once again the Glendale City Council has disappointed me and others in our community by having our American flag lowered to half staff. I would like to remind the City Council that it serves the people in our community not just one group of people. We have gotten the message about the Armenian Genocide, so let's move on now or cause more division in our city. To councilman Frank Quintero, you said at the April 17 council meeting that you served in the U.S. Marine Corps and volunteered to serve in Vietnam and that two of your best friends were killed in battle there, and that they would not mind having our flag lowered.

La Marr -- Stewart Courtney Louise La Marr and Joshua John Stewart exchanged vows during a formal military wedding ceremony at St. Bede the Venerable in La Canada Flintridge. Father Kevin Kester officiated. The couple exited the church under a Marine Corps sword arch and were driven to the reception in a 1920 Packard limousine decorated with American flags. The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Donald Richard La Marr of La Canada Flintridge.

Darleene Barrientos The streets of Glendale are a far cry from Kuwait and Iraq, but Glendale Police trainee and U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Jacob Phillips can handle the change. Phillips, 27, was deployed with his unit in February and spent four months overseas. He was hired by the Glendale Police Department only weeks before being deployed to work in communications for the Marines. Wednesday was Phillips' first official day back at work as a department trainee, helping with preparations for the agency's move into its new headquarters next month.

Janine Marnien A man who once attended local schools and wanted nothing more than to be a Marine when he grew up was killed on an Iraqi battlefield, a U.S. Marine Corps spokesman said. Lance Cpl. Donald J. "John" Cline had been missing for about three weeks before DNA tests confirmed he had been killed in action. He attended Monte Vista Elementary School, Rosemont Middle School and Crescenta Valley High School for about two years before moving to Nevada.

LANG ? GRIFFITH Heather Joy Lang of Lake Forest and Justin Alan Griffith , also of Lake Forest, have announced their engagement and are planning a September wedding. The bride-to-be is the daughter of Chris and Joy Lang of Glendale. She graduated from Crescenta Valley High School in 2003 and received her bachelor?s degree in psychology and social behavior from UC Irvine in 2007. She is employed as a behavioral therapist by Autism Spectrum Therapy. The groom-elect is the son of Gary Griffith of La Crescenta and Rebecca Burns of Chatsworth.

Navy Reserve Midshipman Christopher S. Cho, a 2003 graduate of St. Francis High School in La Canada Flintridge, was sworn into the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps at USC. He reported to USC to undergo orientation week, a program to indoctrinate new midshipmen into the program. Upon completion of the four-year program, midshipmen are commissioned as either 2nd lieutenants in the U.S. Marine Corps or ensigns in the U.S. Navy. Army Pvt. Veronica Martinez, the daughter of Martha Martinez of Glendale, has graduated from the automated logistical specialist advanced individual training course at Fort Lee in Petersburg, Va. Martinez is a 2003 graduate of Glendale High School.

The Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation held a ceremony honoring golf champion Dave Stockton and DineEquity Inc.'s Chairman and Chief Executive Julia Stewart. Stewart received the “Semper Fidelis Award,” which the foundation presents annually to an individual who has demonstrated the Marine Corps values of honor, courage, and patriotism in the business community. A nearly 40-year veteran of the restaurant industry, Stewart heads DineEquity Inc., the Glendale-based company that operates restaurants under the Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar and IHOP brands.

Marine Corps recruiters at the San Gabriel Valley Pride event at Pasadena City College on Saturday didn't care whether the young men who lined up to test their strength were gay or straight. The Marines just wanted to see some pull-ups done properly: Place hands about shoulder width apart, palms facing away; pull upward until chin is over the bar and then slowly return to the hanging position. Repeat until the feet feel like concrete blocks and the biceps like rubber bands about to snap.

LANG ? GRIFFITH Heather Joy Lang of Lake Forest and Justin Alan Griffith , also of Lake Forest, have announced their engagement and are planning a September wedding. The bride-to-be is the daughter of Chris and Joy Lang of Glendale. She graduated from Crescenta Valley High School in 2003 and received her bachelor?s degree in psychology and social behavior from UC Irvine in 2007. She is employed as a behavioral therapist by Autism Spectrum Therapy. The groom-elect is the son of Gary Griffith of La Crescenta and Rebecca Burns of Chatsworth.

A Marine from Glendale has been killed in Afghanistan, the Marine Corps said today. Lance Cpl. Pedro A. Barbozaflores, 27, was killed Saturday during the Marines' push into Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan. Some 4,000 Marines have been assigned to rout the Taliban and other insurgents from the province. Barbozaflores was part of the 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force from Camp Lejeune, N.C. Also killed was another Marine from that unit, Master Sgt. Jerome Hatfield, 36, of Axton, Va. The two were reportedly killed by a roadside bomb.

When U.S. Marine Corps Col. James McGinley returned home Saturday evening after a year in Iraq as the deputy commander and chief of staff for the Iraq Assistance Group, he was greeted by his beaming wife Maribeth and several hundred friends, neighbors and community members. Yellow ribbons and American flags adorned the trees along Rossmoyne Avenue leading up to McGinley’s home on East Mountain Street where the large crowd awaited his arrival. Signs reading “We support our troops” and “We missed you Col. McGinley” lined both sides of the street as McGinley marched toward an arch of red balloons to the patriotic tunes of a live 11-piece swing band.

A Glendale man serving in Iraq is featured in a documentary film and book project that producers hope will give the public a better understanding of those who serve in the military. For Col. James D. McGinley of the U.S. Marine Corps, the film, “Warriors . . . In Their Own Words,” gave him the chance to talk about the challenges the troops faced in 2006 in Ramadi, which is in the Al Anbar Province in Iraq. “It was extremely dangerous,” he said, adding that it’s completely the opposite today, as shops are open and people are walking or driving freely.

Jonathan Bass, a 2002 Newport Harbor High School graduate, was recently promoted to the rank of corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps. He also received a three-year Good Conduct Medal. Bass, who joined the Marines in August 2001 and graduated from boot camp in October 2002, works in aviation electronics in Beaufort, S.C., where he is stationed. Bass is the son of Jeff and Jeanine Bass of Costa Mesa. Raelyn Drury of Newport Beach is one of 78 Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation recipients from California for the 2005-06 academic year.

Deep in the heart of the military base dotted with artillery ranges and helicopter landing pads, an unlikely scene unfolded Saturday. Young parents lounged and looked on as men in camouflage served cotton candy and cups of flavored ice to their children. A magician performed on a nearby stage. Somebody carried off a bicycle won in a raffle. It was a festive scene made possible by a group of former Marines from Newport Beach. In fact, the city in December 2003 "adopted" the 1st Battalion, 1st Marines, and a committee of local military veterans -- including City Manager Homer Bludau, former Mayor Steve Bromberg and Arches restaurateur Dan Marcheano -- has held several events and raised thousands of dollars to help the Marines and their families.

La Marr -- Stewart Courtney Louise La Marr and Joshua John Stewart exchanged vows during a formal military wedding ceremony at St. Bede the Venerable in La Canada Flintridge. Father Kevin Kester officiated. The couple exited the church under a Marine Corps sword arch and were driven to the reception in a 1920 Packard limousine decorated with American flags. The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Donald Richard La Marr of La Canada Flintridge.