REGION: Local veterans offer ways to honor their brethren

By TERI FIGUEROA - Staff Writer | Monday, November 10, 2008 7:28 PM PST ∞

NORTH COUNTY ---- The handshake from a stranger left Jack Pennock stunned.

Even a few months after the encounter, the Army veteran is still touched that someone would take the time during a Padres game in downtown San Diego to thank him for his military service.

When the stranger approached Pennock, the San Marcos resident was wearing a baseball cap with the words "Vietnam Veteran" across the front.

Forty years ago, such a public proclamation of his involvement in the unpopular war was likely to have been met with anger ---- and possibly spit ---- from strangers.

"I was shocked and surprised," a still-pleased Pennock, 61, said Monday of the handshake. "Nobody had ever done that before."

The handshake and similar pats on the back are among the many ways local veterans said they feel honored for their service.

Others cited more serious concerns, including what they see as a lack of adequate health care or funding for struggling veterans, or a need to better educate youth about military service.

Veterans Day carries special meaning in North County, home to Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base, the largest Marine Corps installation on the West Coast.

Thousands of active-duty servicemen and servicewomen and large numbers of retired military folks, from grunts to brass, have put down roots here.

With the country embroiled in two wars, thousands of locally based Marines and Navy sailors have been deployed overseas.

The day is often marked by parades and luncheons ---- but often viewed by many civilians as a day off from work.

The North County Times asked a handful of veterans how they best wanted to be honored on this day set aside for them.

A number of them said those surprise handshakes from strangers are meaningful.

"Sometimes," said Marine Cpl. David Hernandez, 22, on Monday, "a handshake and a 'thank you' can be enough."

Nina Johnston, 56, was a Vietnam-era Marine who now works with troubled and down-on-their luck veterans through a program in Escondido.

Johnston said she would like to see people donate more time and money to programs dedicated to healing troops who have internal scars.

"It would be helping them find their way back into society," Johnston said.

Other veterans said there are ways they'd like to see people extend gratitude for their service. Invite them to schools to speak with kids. Donate money to veterans' causes. Volunteer at a veterans' shelter. Push politicians for better medical care for veterans and ---- just as important, many said ---- for mental health services.

"Veterans don't ask for much," said Marine Sgt. Moses Hooper, 22, an Oceanside resident who is not far removed from a deployment to Afghanistan. "It's our pleasure to serve the country.

"They don't pay us enough, but it's not about the money. Somebody has to put their face in the dirt."

Hooper said he wants to see more and better care for returning veterans, especially those who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, a violence-induced psychological trauma.

"I just got back from Afghanistan, with bombs skipping across your head and mortars exploding by your truck," Hooper said. "When you come back, and you see people with PTSD, it reminds me how much we sacrificed. It really hits home."

Hooper listed a number of ways that Americans could honor veterans.

"Donate money. Donate blood. Donate organs. Volunteer," the Camp Pendleton Marine said.

Standing near Hooper in Vista on Monday, Cpl. Hernandez added that the dependents of troops should share some of the day's honors.

A Miramar-based Marine, Hernandez is married, with two children under 4 years old ---- and he had to leave them behind when he was deployed to Iraq.

It's been nearly 67 years since now-retired Gunnery Sgt. James Evans watched the bombs drop around him ---- he was a teenage Marine at the time ---- in Hawaii as Japanese fighters attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941, catapulting the United States into World War II.

"I'll tell you God's truth for 99 percent of the veterans I know: They do not feel they have done anything special," Evans said. "We did what we had to do, what we were supposed to do. We never felt that what we did was out of the ordinary. Our country called us, and we answered."

The Oceanside resident, who also served in the Korean War, said he would like to see schools do more to explain to students what it means to be a veteran, such as inviting veterans into classrooms to share their experiences.

"Kids should be given an idea of what really went on," Evans said. "These are the people we really want to reach. How can you be proud of something you don't know anything about?"

Just months after coming home from a deployment to Afghanistan, Hooper said he carries internal scars.

"People see it as a day off," Hooper said of Veterans Day, "but I look at it differently now as a combat vet. I see it as a day to remember."

Contact staff writer Teri Figueroa at (760) 740-5442 or tfigueroa@nctimes.com.