Honoring California's war dead on Veterans Day

Veterans Day honors all men and women who have served in the American military. Those who gave their lives for their country have always had a special place of honor on a national holiday created to celebrate the end of WWI and originally called Armistice Day.

"If the idealistic hope had been realized that World War I was 'the war to end all wars,' " the name may never have changed, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs website notes.

With wars going on in Afghanistan and Iraq, The Times also gives special acknowledgment to the Californians who have died while supporting those efforts. In some cases, those individuals went to lengths to join or stay in the military. Their stories have been collected in the California's War Dead database, where readers are invited to share memories of the fallen. Here are a few:

Told he was too thin to serve at Army boot camp, William A. Farrar Jr. of Redlands went back home to eat. Even so, when he returned two weeks later he had to drink extra water to meet the minimum requirements. Farrar was fresh out of Palm Springs High when he enlisted.

Pfc. Farrar, 20, was killed May 11, 2007 when his convoy was struck by a roadside bomb in Iskandariya, south of Baghdad.

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Army Sgt. Richard Soukenka spent part of his childhood living on the streets, bushes and riverbeds of San Diego County. As a teenager, he was taken in by a soup kitchen volunteer who later formally adopted him.

A teacher at Oceanside High where Soukenka was a student remembered him for having "the most incredible spirit about him. Whatever setback he encountered, he found a way to dust himself off and move on."

Soukenka was on his second tour of duty in Iraq, and 10 years into his service in the Army, when he and two others soldiers were killed Feb. 27, 2007, by a roadside bomb that exploded near their vehicle in Baghdad. He was 30. Those who knew him said he had come to believe Americans were in the middle of a civil war they could not change.

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Robert T. Rapp of Sonora, Calif., turned 18 during his senior year at Sonora High and left six months early to enlist. His family and friends said he had a deep-rooted sense of patriotism, driven by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Before he and another paratrooper were killed by a suicide bomber in Sabari, Afghanistan, on March 3, 2008, Army Sgt. Rapp, 22, wrote a prophetic letter home:

"Let the world know I died doing what I love," he wrote. "Dying for my country is the greatest honor I could ever receive."

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Justin T. Hunt of Riverside weighed 360 pounds when he first tried to sign up for military service -- the Army and the Navy told him to come back when he lost the weight.

For 10 months the former Elsinore High defensive tackle ran every morning with his Marine recruiter. He told his mother he could do without his favorite foods: French fries, pasta and potatoes.

Hunt was a muscular 170 pounds when he became a Marine.

"He was so proud," his mother said. " 'Mommy, your baby boy's a Marine.' That's what he said when he graduated."

Lance Cpl. Hunt, 22, was killed in combat July 6, 2004, while battling insurgents in Al Anbar province, Iraq. His older brother, Robert, a Navy corpsman who also was serving in Iraq, accompanied his body home.

-- Megan Garvey

Related: Obama speaks to Veterans Day crowd: 'That is why we fight'
Veterans Day events planned across Southern California

Comments

[nancy]

While honoring our fallen soldiers is laudable, and while those families of those men mourn them everyday, as a country we set aside Memorial Day to honor them. Today. let us not forget to say a heartfelt thank you to those Veteran's who served and are with us today. My husband is a Viet Nam vet and I thank God every day that he came home to me. A big thank you to him and to all those who have served to keep us safe.

[Hilary]

I served in the army a few years back and so did my little brother. My enlistment ended just before Iraq started heating up but he did two tours there. Those were hard times for our family and I wonder whether it was worth it. The memories seared into my brother's mind. This is his one life and horrible images from Iraq will be with him until he dies. What makes it worth it? What makes this country worth dying for? I read a headline this morning that the families of the DC sniper victims were busy "celebrating" his execution. To me that is sick. And primitive. What makes this country worth dying for? We ask our kids to die for freedom. Whose freedom? The freedom for working-class people to face endless economic uncertainty while the rich shower themselves in luxury? What are we really asking our guys to die for?

[Runaway1956]

To: America
From: An 8 year veteran of the US Navy
SUBJ: Thanks
I want to thank America for my unemployment check. It's wonderful that an ILLEGAL ALIEN is doing my work for me. I get to sit at home, drawing that check, and browsing the internet.
Problem is - what will I do when the unemployment runs out? Will I have to get a job working for the ILLEGAL ALIENS who are earning my wages now?
THANKS FOR NOTHING AMERICA!!

[Michael]

To Hilary,

We serve to ensure that Americans have the freedom to celebrate execution, the freedom to make a ton of money, and the freedom to criticize America.

I served for 6 years and I'm proud of what I helped to protect.

[Ray]

great article on Californias war dead. you should do some research though Veterans Day is for Americas Veterans. Memorial Day is for the dead. As a disabled Viet Nam vet I wonder why the media cannot tell difference between the two.

[Art Abshire, US Army - Retired]

While it is commendable you mention the KIA's, as you should every month, you are horribly confused in mixing the intent of Memorial Day with Veterans' Day. Veteran's Day has nothing to do with the deaths of soldiers. It is about a life or part of a life spent in military service. It celebrates the living military veteran. It is meant to give those Veterans still with us "Thanks" for their service BEFORE it's too late for them to get anything out of it. We give honor, respect and recognition to and for those few in our country who had what it took to write a blank check on their lives and DIDN'T have to have it cashed in. Veteran's Day is to publically laud the fact that, though it didn't cost them their lives, they were willing to pay that ultimate price. Veteran's day if for the hail and hardy new recruit, the returning Iraq/Afghanistan trooper, the crippled Viet Nam Vet, the scarred and forgotten Korean Conflict warrior, the bent and fragile World War II survivor. It is NOT to mourn or praise the dead whom, though always within the minds and hearts of their family and Brothers whom have a separate and significant days set aside for their memories. Veterans' Day is a true celebration of life and you missed the point entirely. The fact that a major news media organization fails to note the significant and highly meaningful difference between the two military oriented federal holidays speaks volumes as to the general state of information and education Americans may be now getting from such "news" sources as yours.

[gobi Oldenquest]

they were very brave. I hope I could be as brave as them one day.