Veterans Look Back 50 Years and Lifetime Ago : Commemoration: Five who lived through WWII battles recall their experiences in victory that ‘literally changed the world.’

With fancy clothing stores and perfume shops serving as an incongruous backdrop, World War II veterans here Monday commemorated the 50th anniversary of the end of the war in Europe.

Five veterans recalled their experiences before a gathering of spectators at South Coast Plaza as the Orange Symphonic Band played patriotic tunes from that cataclysmic time.

“Our victory in Europe 50 years ago today put an end to the Nazi regime, one of the most despotic and ruthless regimes in all the world,” Gene Robens, a retired U.S. Army colonel who was the master of ceremonies, said. “V-E (Victory in Europe) day is a day that we, our children and our children’s children must never forget.”

Robert (Mal) Phillips, who fought at Normandy as an Army private, cannot forget the hardships he endured as a prisoner of war after he and his squad parachuted into combat, only to be captured a few days later.

“I was stripped of my freedom, lost 50 pounds and went through periods of thirst and starvation,” said Phillips, 72, a prisoner from June 7, 1944, to May 8, 1945. “But we were outnumbered and surrounded and we had to lay our rifles down.”

Jack Hammett, a Navy warrant officer and Pearl Harbor survivor, talked about the Pacific theater in World War II, and said he can still picture the bombs dropping around him on Dec. 7, 1941, when the Japanese attacked the American fleet at anchor in the harbor.

He saw friends die.

“Here’s a message for those who see war on the TV and think it’s glamorous--it’s not,” said the 75-year-old Hammett, who attended the ceremony in a blue-and-white Hawaiian shirt and Navy cap. “But you’ll never really realize what it’s all about until you see it, touch it and smell it up front. It’s hard to describe in words.”

Bud Anderson, who flew fighter planes, compared the small number of combat pilots to mosquitoes.

“We were not big in numbers, but we bit from dawn to dusk,” he said. “We lost a lot of men, but the results were significant. And we were always ready to hunt down the enemy aircraft, operating in the dark over enemy territory on many a stormy night.”

Retired Marine Col. William E. Barber, 75, the keynote speaker who was awarded both the Medal of Honor and the Silver Star for heroism, said, “The Americans who fought in World War II literally changed the world. I’m convinced we made the world a better place. We certainly made the United States a better place.

“And the men who served came from all over,” he continued. “They came from the factories and the farms and the small towns throughout the nation.”