Young Lee in Korea wearing combat fatigues. Picture of a Navy Cross, which was awarded to him.

On a hilltop in Placerville, the El Dorado County Veterans Monument offers a beautiful and fitting tribute to those who served to defend this nation and its Constitution. Some are manifested by name and rank. Others, including Korean War hero and Marine Major Kurt Chew-Een Lee, are honored with plaques that can only begin to […]

Photo of the 562nd Air National Guard Band of the West

They’ve been spending much of the past 16 months in the wild bored yonder. They’ve been mostly limited to the halls of Ventura. They’ve been anchored away from family and friends. And, they’ve been longing to say “Hi! Hi! Hey” and go upon their merry way. Now, however, with COVID-19 pandemic restrictions finally easing, the […]

A photo of the Juneteenth flag and a copy of the General Order #3.

The state of California has reopened, and just in time for Juneteenth events that bring a great opportunity for celebration, education, and unity. Juneteenth – combining June and the nineteenth – represents June 19, 1865, the day when 250,000 enslaved people in Texas were told by Major General Gordon Granger that they were now free. […]

CalVet logo and American soldiers jumping out of a helicopter in Vietnam.

Some days can be hugely important and memorable: December 7 (the Pearl Harbor attack, 1941), June 6 (D-Day, 1944), and September 11 (the terrorists attacks in New York and the Pentagon, 2001). Others might be lesser known but important components of a much larger event, and that brings us to today, June 16. While numerous […]

In the late 1940s and into the mid-1950s, Senator Joseph R. McCarthy of Wisconsin ran an unsubstantiated and divisive campaign of deceit and distrust that shook the nation to its core. It came to a head 67 years ago this month, when McCarthy accused the United States Army of being infiltrated by communists, and ran […]

Paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne.

The invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944, began the final Allied forces’ push across Europe to destroy the Nazi regime and end the war in Europe. That battle alone led to 13 Americans ultimately receiving the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest tribute to bravery in the face of the enemy. Army paratrooper Private […]

Photo of the USS Yorktown after it was hit by enemy fire.

The USS Yorktown (CV5) rests beneath 16,650 feet of water in the Pacific Ocean, its name still, but barely, visible on the stern when famed oceanographer Robert Ballard located the wreckage in 1998. The carrier remains undisturbed as it has — and as it should — since sinking to the ocean floor three days after […]

When Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act in 1968, it ultimately transformed three holidays and one day of remembrance – the latter being Memorial Day – into three-day weekends. The underlying reason? Travel, barbecues, picnics, and such all benefit the national, regional, and local economies. It became the unofficial start of the summer tourism […]

Fireworks

As birthdays go, this is a big one: the 100th of the California Department of Veterans Affairs’ Home Loan Program. On May 30, 1921, the California Veterans Farm and Home Loan program was signed into law by Governor William Stephens to assist and reward the state’s military veterans. Beginning with the first loan that closed […]

Boston Red Sox great Ted Williams, arguably baseball’s greatest hitter of all time, enlisted in the United States Naval Reserve 79 years ago today. Williams, born and raised in San Diego, eventually became one of 37 Baseball Hall of Famers to serve during World War II, while 27 others fought in World War I. Eleven […]