Lest we forget

Eron Ben-Yehuda

Talking to Huntington Beach resident Bob Kakuk, you realize that Veterans

Day is more than just an excuse to miss work.

The Vietnam veteran saw too many men die in combat.

“War is hell,” he said.

Ask the 53-year-old if he was hurt during his tour of duty in 1968 and he

replies: “No, not physically.”

But the psychological wounds are still healing.

“A lot of questions go through your mind,” he said. “A lot of times you

say, ‘Why not me?’ ”

Today, locals will take time time to honor such men and women who risked

their lives to defend the country’s principles at home and abroad.

“Many people are free in other countries because of what we’ve done,” he

said.

The price of freedom was high for some.

More than 86,000 soldiers are considered missing in action, dating back

to World War II, he said. Thousands of others made the ultimate sacrifice

-- their lives.

But many of those who survived expect nothing in return.

“As a Vietnam veteran, I don’t expect anything special,” he said. “People

can show their respect by putting out their flags.”

But City Councilwoman Shirley Dettloff said we ought to pay homage to all

the men who were whisked away to far-off lands. Time is running out, she

said.

“A great many of those veterans that were so much a part of World War II,

we’re losing them,” she said.

Harry Carlson spent about three years in Europe as an army mess sergeant.

He said he knows where this country might be without its veterans.

“It may be under Hitler’s rule,” he said.

The 78-year-old Carlson, a 25-year Huntington Beach resident, said he had

never left his home state of Michigan before Uncle Sam sent him off to

France, Switzerland and Germany at the age of 21.

“The whole thing was one big adventure,” he said.

Germany was “cold, rotten, dirty and miserable,” but some rest and

recuperation -- “R&R;” -- in France made him forget his troubles for a

while, he said.

The war spilled across the Pacific to Japan, where Ray Calderman, 71,

served. He came over in 1946 during the American occupation of the island

and fixed bomber planes for the air force.

Before he began his tour, Calderman had heard horrible stories about

atrocities committed by the Japanese during the war. But he learned to

separate the soldiers from the civilians.

“The people were very humble,” said the Huntington Beach resident.

Still, he couldn’t wait to return to the land of the free.

“There’s no place like home,” he said.

A Labor of Love

Twice a year, just before Veterans Day and Memorial Day, Huntington Beach

resident Bob Kakuk goes to City Hall to clean the war memorial and check

the conditions of the flags nearby.

Nobody asked the 53-year-old Vietnam veteran to do this, but he wants to.

“For my brothers,” he said.

Those brothers were 86 residents who were either killed or are considered

missing in action from World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam.

The monument stands as reminder of their tremendous sacrifices. But some

people let their memories fade.

As Kakuk scrubbed and hosed down the memorial this week, some people

rushing out of City Hall nodded approvingly. Others completely ignored

him, too busy with their day-to-day affairs.

“They forget about us,” he said. “It’s past tense. It’s history.”

But Kakuk feels compelled to live according to the quote carved into the

memorial: “Lest We Forget Our Heroes of All Wars.”

Huntington Beach War Memorial

WHERE: Huntington Beach City Hall, 2000 Main St.

DEDICATED: May 26, 1997

MADE OF: Black granite from India

LISTS: Names of 86 Huntington Beach residents either killed or missing in

action from World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam.

IT SAYS: “Lest We Forget Our Heroes of All Wars.”