Ceremonies Honor the Sacrifices of Veterans

Five decades have passed, but retired U.S. Army Sgt. Thomas J. McGowan can recount that hellish day in 1945 as if it were exploding before his eyes.

On Jan. 17, the platoon leader stood his ground as hundreds of German troops advanced on the town of Oberwampach in Luxembourg, about 175 miles from Paris.

After ordering his men to retreat, McGowan, a member of the Army’s 90th Infantry Division, called in artillery to stop the panzer tanks and the SS soldiers. As the fight raged on and he emptied his weapons, a tank shell ripped open his right leg. Only he and one other member of his 28-man platoon survived the day.

On Monday, during a ceremony at the Los Angeles National Cemetery in Westwood, Gov. Gray Davis presented McGowan with a Silver Star, one of the military’s highest awards, for gallantry in action during one of World War II’s bloodiest campaigns, the Battle of the Bulge.

“We come to this hallowed ground out of profound respect for those who are not here because they gave their all so that we could be here,” Davis said. “We come to honor those men and women who historians have called the ‘children of democracy.’ ”

At Memorial Day services around the country, President Clinton, retired Gen. Colin Powell and other civilian and military officials praised veterans for their sacrifices and pledged to renew efforts to identify and return the remains of American soldiers who died overseas. In Bedford, Va., a National D-Day Memorial was dedicated in honor of a tiny town that suffered more casualties per capita during the first day of the invasion than any other U.S community.

The farming hamlet with a population of 3,200 lost 23 of 35 soldiers who took part in the D-day assault on the coast of France. Nineteen died within the first 15 minutes of landing.

Clinton, in the final Memorial Day observances of his presidency, said the United States and North Korea will resume talks next month in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, over excavations for soldiers missing for half a century.

“The United States will always honor and never forsake its fallen heroes, and we will not abandon their families,” Clinton said after the traditional wreath-laying at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.

Clinton invited families of missing soldiers to breakfast at the White House before the ceremony, and several families rode in the presidential motorcade the short distance to Arlington.

“There is no more compelling way to understand how important our continuous [repatriation] efforts are to the hearts and minds of Americans than to hear it from family members themselves,” Clinton said.

The latest area targeted for U.S. recovery operations in North Korea is near Unsan, a site of major battles between elements of the U.S. Army’s 8th Cavalry Regiment and Chinese troops that swept south across the Yalu River in early November 1950. The Pentagon believes the remains of more than 500 men could be recovered there.

Since 1996, U.S. recovery operations in North Korea have yielded 42 sets of remains. More than 8,000 servicemen from the war are still unaccounted for.

Later Monday, Clinton marked the national “moment of remembrance,” asking each American to pause for reflection on the service and sacrifice of veterans. A red-coated Marine trumpeter played taps on a White House balcony at 3 p.m. as Clinton, golf cap over his heart, listened from his private White House putting green.

At graduation ceremonies at Georgetown University, Powell praised Vietnam and Korean War veterans for their sacrifices in unpopular wars.

“These two wars claimed the lives of over 100,000 young Americans who were doing their duty,” the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told 1,000 Georgetown graduates. “In one case, they saved a nation from communism. In the other, we lost a war, and tyranny prevailed.”

Powell added: “We may yet see that our ideals prevailed in Vietnam as well.”

At the services in Los Angeles, the 80-year-old Battle of the Bulge survivor told a crowd of more than 1,000 that he was dedicating his award to “my fallen comrades.”

In an interview, McGowan recalled that nearly 7,000 artillery shells were fired at the Germans after he called in their positions. Still the Germans overran his group, shooting McGowan in his left thigh and cracking his skull and jaw. “I was lying in snow all red,” McGowan said.

McGowan does not know how he survived or who saved him. He only remembers waking in a British hospital, and after years of rehabilitation he returned home to Manhattan.

He moved to Los Angeles, married, had two children and worked for 30 years for the Los Angeles City Employees Federal Credit Union.

In Rancho Palos Verdes Monday, veterans paid tribute to America’s fallen soldiers during ceremonies centered on a traveling replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.

And in Orange County, on a stage decked out like a tiny ship, with anchors and buoys and blue streamers for water, Navy Capt. David Jones talked about the “top-notch American lads” who have patrolled the oceans in submarines for 100 years.

The Navy Submarine Force, known as the “Silent Service” for its stealthy, underwater attacks and lonely existence, was the latest military group to be honored at Fullerton’s 62nd Memorial Day observance. Hundreds showed up for the event at Loma Vista Memorial Park, gathering under tents and trees, surrounded by 500 flags.

“On board any submarine there will always be an element of inherent danger,” Jones told the rapt audience, which gave him a standing ovation. “Patrol after patrol, since the year 1900, submariners ran into enemy fire. And patrol after patrol, they returned to fight.”

The Loma Vista Memorial Day tradition was started by the son of the city’s first mayor, C. Stanley Chapman, who decorated the cemetery’s military graves by himself in 1938.

This weekend, hundreds of volunteers placed more than 3,000 flags and little white crosses on those graves.

“It is a fabulous day,” said Maggie McDonald, a Cypress resident whose husband, Max, is buried at Loma Vista. “The flags are glorious. The spirit is breathtaking. I feel proud and I feel sad, but I’m so very thankful for my country.”

Earl Deeble, an 81-year-old member of the Submarine Force, wanted to honor the thousands of fellow submariners who lost their lives. “They are still on patrol out there,” Deeble said. “They are still heroes too.”

In Canoga Park, the beginning of that city’s 12th annual Memorial Day parade was signaled by a fly-over by the Condor Squadron, a formation of old fighter planes. About 30,000 people then watched the procession of equestrians, motorcycles, classic cars and cheerleading squads.

Don Stout, 82, a World War II B-17 pilot who rode in the parade, was shot down over Germany and imprisoned for 28 months.

“I still fly the American flag,” he said. “I think we should fly it every time we get a chance.”

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Times staff writers Bonnie Harris and Solomon Moore contributed to this story.