A Day to Honor Southland Veterans

In the nearly half a century since a young Marine from Los Angeles’ Eastside laid down his life to save a comrade in the Korean War, the Medal of Honor that commemorated Eugene A. Obregon’s sacrifice has been followed with many other tributes.

A school, a ship, a barracks, an American Legion post and three parks all bear his name. But on Monday, as community leaders gathered at Veterans Memorial Park in Boyle Heights, Obregon received the most visible tribute ever--the renaming of one of the region’s busiest freeway exchanges in his honor.

Attended by his mother, Henrietta Obregon, and other family members as well as many of the Latino community’s political elite, the dedication of the Eugene A. Obregon Memorial Interchange was one of many celebrations throughout Los Angeles County to honor the war veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

“Eugene Obregon was a hero and an inspiration to us when we were students at Roosevelt High, and he shall remain so,” said Assemblyman Gil Cedillo (D- Los Angeles), who recalled hearing about the young soldier as a youth.

Those who lament that Memorial Day seems to have turned into little more than a three-day weekend and one more retailing opportunity could take heart from the parades, dedications and remembrances under overcast skies.

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There was the 27th annual POW/MIA/KIA Memorial Golf Tournament at Edwards Air Force Base, with proceeds benefiting Antelope Valley high school graduates planning aerospace careers. There was a rally to honor homeless veterans near downtown Los Angeles. And in San Pedro, there was a tribute to military and law enforcement personnel who lost their lives in the line of duty, featuring a former Tuskegee 332nd Fighter Group aviator in World War II.

In Canoga Park, the Marine Corps Mounted Color Guard, a four-member equestrian unit, kicked off the San Fernando Valley community’s 10th annual Memorial Day parade. Large crowds lined the sidewalks to catch a glimpse of Battle of the Bulge veterans, antique fire engines, marching bands and a dog riding a motorcycle.

“Of all the parades we do, this is the most significant,” said Marine Corps gunnery Sgt. Dave Cooley, 43. “It lets us honor our fallen vets.”

At the Los Angeles National Cemetery in Westwood, about 2,500 Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and Brownies draped the rows of headstones and memorial markers with 83,000 American flags.

The crowd included Louise Wilson, 85, who was attending her 26th Memorial Day program at the 114-acre cemetery, which opened in 1889.

“Bless each soldier’s heart who died for the flag so our country could be free,” she said from her front-row seat. Her husband, a World War II veteran who died in 1971, is buried at the cemetery.

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Speaking at the 109th annual Memorial Day ceremonies there, Rear Adm. William D. Butler told the audience that more than 600,000 men and women have died in combat in the nation’s history. “It is right that we pause today to remember them,” he said.

“What we must not do is forget what this day of commemoration is all about. This day reminds us of what we can achieve when we pull together as one nation.”

Butler said Memorial Day should remind Americans of their obligation not only to remember those “who have taken care of us,” but those “who still serve us and protect our freedom.”

The gathering included veterans--many of them in uniform--from such groups as the Sons of Confederate Veterans (actually a great-grandson), American Ex-Prisoners of War, Military Order of the Purple Heart, Jewish War Veterans, Korean American Army Veterans and Russian Veterans of World War II.

Afterward, flowers were flown by helicopter from the cemetery and scattered over the ocean.

Across town, a less grandiose but equally heartfelt ceremony unfolded to honor Obregon and others from the tightknit Eastside Latino community who died in their country’s service.

Joining Obregon’s family were some of the city’s influential Latino leaders, including Cedillo and Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa (D-Los Angeles).

The Obregons and the family of U.S. Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, who obtained a replica of Obregon’s Medal of Valor for display by the American Legion post that bears his name, were neighbors on Evergreen Avenue when the 19-year-old private first class was killed Sept. 26, 1950. He had stopped to help another Marine who had been hurt, and he fought off the advancing enemy while shielding the wounded man with his own body until he died.

“I’ll always remember the day Henrietta got word that Eugene had been killed,” said Roybal-Allard, who was about 9 at the time.

When Obregon was awarded the nation’s highest honor posthumously, Roybal-Allard recalled, her father, former Rep. Edward R. Roybal, “told us he was a role model, not only for our community but for all Americans.”

Lt. Gov. Gray Davis, a gubernatorial candidate and Vietnam War combat veteran who received a Bronze Star, joined in unveiling the large green sign that will be posted at what has until now been known as the East L.A. Interchange.

The often congested confluence of four freeways, traversed by more than half a million vehicles a day, was deemed an appropriate way to remember a young man who left the only community he had ever known to die for his country when he was barely out of high school.

One of the many veterans who attended Monday’s dedication ceremony was Raul Heraldez, who had been in the same homeroom as Obregon at Hollenbeck Junior High School. Heraldez brought along his copy of the 1947 yearbook, the Siren. Among the photographs on a yellowing, autograph-covered page was that of a wavy-haired Obregon, a slight smile playing across his handsome features.

“We used to hang around. He was just crazy,” Heraldez said. Did he ever expect his friend to end up a war hero?

“Never,” said Heraldez, then added, “He always had a lot of guts, though.”

Times staff writer Stephanie Stassel contributed to this story.