Vietnam War

Gretchen Hoffman GLENDALE -- The city war memorial has stood since 1997 as a monument to men and women who died to help keep the country free, but its list of war heroes is a work in progress. The memorial is a tribute to local residents who died in World War I, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Organizers tried to account for every resident who died during a 20th century war before they built the memorial in 1997. Butsome, like the five people whose names were added last year, got lost in the shuffle of records and documents.

The names of the following men with ties to Glendale will be added to the Glendale Veterans Memorial during the annual Memorial Day ceremony May 31 outside City Hall: VIETNAM WAR Joseph L. Ostifin. Arnold C. Pearson. Keith L. Ware. WORLD WAR II Rex G. Blalack. Robert F. McNeill. James E. Rosebrough. Robert N. Stoaks. A memorial to remember those who lost their lives while serving in Iraq, titled "Protecting Our Freedom," will be dedicated at the ceremony.

Claudia Peschiutta LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE -- Veterans from the area and beyond will gather today to support Rep. James Rogan (R-Glendale) in his run for reelection against state Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Glendale). Veterans and fellow House Republicans, Randy Cunningham of San Diego and Sam Johnson from Texas, will appear at the Rogan rally, according to a news release. As a member of the U.S. Navy, Cunningham earned several medals during the Vietnam War. Johnson spent nearly seven years as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam and was also highly decorated, the release said.

Claudia Peschiutta GLENDALE -- Congressman James Rogan garnered unanimous support from his peers Tuesday for a measure that would create a national registry of veterans' memorials, officials said. The bill, which would require the National Park Service to establish and maintain a registry of the country's veterans' and war memorials, awaits a vote in the Senate. Rogan credited Brian Rooney, an area Vietnam War veteran who has been compiling a list of memorials, for inspiring the legislation.

Let me start by saying that what happened 86 years ago -- the Armenian Genocide -- should have never happened and needless to say should never happen again. It is over, just as World War II; the Korean War, the Vietnam War; etc. Now is the time to create a way to celebrate and/or remember the ones who have fallen and/or been left behind, how do we do that? Do we create a day/week/month or build a statue/memorial or what, to celebrate and/or remember on a ongoing basis, in order to demonstrate our feelings for what has happen in the past.

Opponents to Democratic candidate John Kerry want us to know more than we care to know about his protests against the Vietnam War 30 years ago. Opponents of George Bush want us to understand his service record in the National Guard from about the same time. We have soldiers risking their lives overseas, millions of people without health insurance, enormous federal deficits, and the news organizations want us to understand what these guys were doing in their 20s. Isn't it about time to focus on what the election might suggest about the future of this country rather than what the candidates did in the '70s?

Jackson Bell For four local families, Memorial Day will not just be about honoring the country's fallen soldiers. They will be mourning their sons, who were killing in Iraq this past year. The men -- Eric Ayon, Todd Bryant, Donald J. Cline Jr. and Rel Ravago IV -- will be added to the Glendale Veterans Memorial, on a new wall for the war in Iraq. Although the black granite slab will not be completed until July, a mock-up with the names will be at Monday's ceremony.

World War II was the last conflict where the nation could agree that sending our children to war was a moral mandate. That concept of mutual sacrifice was not present during the Vietnam war, and it is not shared by many today in the war in Iraq. We paid the price for that great victory at a great cost that touched practically every family in America. But, our success also created the myth of our destiny -- that we could shape the world in our image to admiring throngs or protect the world from itself through the sheer force of our military, our ideals and our commitment.

Jackson Bell Cynthia Cline-Fulton fought back tears while the city of Glendale honored her son for making the ultimate sacrifice last year. Her son, Donald J. Cline Jr., a longtime La Crescenta resident and former student at Crescenta Valley High School, died March 23, 2003, in Iraq while serving in the military. "Seeing my son's name up there makes me proud, but I'm also sad because he's my only child," Cline-Fulton said at Monday morning's Memorial Day ceremony.

High school hosts two Veterans Day assembles to honor U.S. soldiers, past and present.Crescenta Valley High School's Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps hosted two Veterans Day assemblies Wednesday. Cadet Maj. Daniel Cheung, a senior and squadron commander, gave a speech. "Think about the place that you call home, the people that you consider as friends. Think about your luxuries -- cars, iPods, and even computers," Cheung said. "Now think about how much of that would not be there without the service and sacrifice of these veterans " Among the honored was the school's own co-principal Michael Livingston, who was a U.S. Coast Guard petty officer during the Vietnam War. Capt.

Two weeks ago I received an email from a young wife and mother whose husband is serving a combat tour in Afghanistan. She was distraught over his absence and the possibility that he might never return. “Dr. Joe, I'm missing my man, and worrying about his safety,” she wrote. “Can you write some thoughts that might alleviate the pain I feel?” I spent days thinking about this, believing my thoughts would never be sufficient to help this young wife and mother. But I hit reply and said, “Dearest, read me on Sunday; I hope my words can give you hope.” When I was a young Marine I thought going to war was one big adventure.

For those who served their country honorably, the horrors of Vietnam are best left forgotten. But for Burbank freelance journalist Marc Phillip Yablonka, the Vietnam War served as the inspiration for his life?s work. Yablonka?s first book, ?Distant War: Recollections of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia? is an expansive collection of Vietnam-related articles he wrote for various military magazines and newspapers, and quite an interesting read. In the prologue, Yablonka admits that he came to the Vietnam War ?

Demonstrators took turns lying on an inflatable mattress at the corner of Honolulu Avenue and Ocean View Boulevard on Friday while others passed out daisies and sang songs of peace in commemoration of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s 40th anniversary Bed-In for peace. Lennon and Ono staged a bed-in in 1969 at a hotel during their honeymoon and allowed cameras to photograph them in bed while they promoted peace and protested the Vietnam War. Forty years later, the members of the Montrose Peace Vigil tried to re-create the couple’s demonstration, but they decided to take it to the streets of their town for a couple of hours.

MONTROSE — The removal of the American flag from its post over the Vietnam War memorial in the Montrose Shopping Park is an ongoing concern for anti-war protesters, who have been passing out leaflets and posting fliers expressing their opposition to the Montrose Shopping Park Assn.’s decision on when the flag should fly above the memorial. Montrose Peace Vigil members, who oppose the war in Iraq, have been holding weekly anti-war rallies for more than two years at the war memorial on the corner of Honolulu Avenue and Ocean View Boulevard.

Regarding “Battle lines are drawn,” March 15: Yes, there are two points of view in the Montrose/La Crescenta area. Those of us who stand on the southeast corner of Honolulu Avenue and Ocean View Boulevard are there in support of the U.S. troops deployed in the “war on terror.” We also want our country to support those troops who receive and are recovering from injuries sustained while fighting the “war on terror.” Those who identify themselves as peace activists have written to complain about the American flag not being flown at the Montrose Vietnam War Memorial while they protest the war on Friday nights.

The congregation of First Baptist Church in Glendale will bid farewell Sunday to the Rev. Frank Brougher, who is retiring after more than 40 years as a Baptist pastor, with the last 13 years of his career in Glendale. But Brougher was hardly a newcomer when he became associate pastor of First Baptist in 1995 — it was more of a homecoming. Brougher’s father, Dr. James Brougher Jr. was the church’s pastor for 76 years, before he died in 2003 at the age of 101. “He always said he would like nothing more than to have me on staff with him,” Frank Brougher said.

Friends and family gathered at the northeast corner of Glenoaks and Brand Boulevards on Sunday to pay tribute to Ron Macklin, the first helicopter pilot from Glendale killed in Vietnam, as they honored his memory with a bronze plaque dedicated to his service. Macklin’s widow, Maggie Macklin and daughter, Jenna met with about 30 guests who stood around the plaque, which is mounted on a metal bench near a patch of flowers. Glendale resident Bob Lemke, a friend of the Macklin family, arranged to have the plaque dedicated.