Former Oxnard Resident to Head Selective Service

Alfred Rascon, a graduate of Oxnard High who was awarded the Medal of Honor for bravery in Vietnam, has been nominated by the Bush administration to be the next director of the U.S. Selective Service.

Rascon, 55 and now a resident of Maryland, worked as inspector general of the federal agency for several years.

Last week, he appeared before the Senate Committee on Armed Services for a hearing on his nomination, which he described as a “great honor.”

“It humbles you,” said Rascon, an immigrant who grew up in Oxnard’s La Colonia community, “but it makes you aware about what America is all about.”

Rascon was awarded the military’s highest honor last year by President Clinton for his heroism in Vietnam.

An Army medic, Rascon nearly died while using his body to shield wounded soldiers from enemy fire and grenade explosions after his platoon came under attack. He was so badly wounded he was given last rites.

Members of his platoon overcame bungled paperwork and high-level Pentagon resistance to ensure that Rascon received the Medal of Honor--34 years after the fact.

After the war, Rascon earned degrees from colleges in California and New York. He served as a military liaison in Panama and an operations specialist for the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Rascon retired in January from the Selective Service, which registers eligible men for military duty, and said he was looking forward to a little time off. But then came the nomination.

“The president ends up asking for something, you obviously don’t say, ‘No, thanks,’ ” Rascon said.

Born in Chihuahua, Mexico, Rascon moved to Ventura County at the age of 1 with his parents. A 1963 graduate of Oxnard High, he enlisted at age 17 and joined one of the first U.S. units to fight in Vietnam.

Last week, sitting before the Armed Services Committee, Rascon reflected on his life journey from the impoverished streets of Oxnard to the hallowed halls of Washington, D.C.

“It is a great honor,” Rascon said. “I know I am competent to do the job, but at the same time, you are sitting there and it is overwhelming.”

Although Rascon now lives not far from the Beltway, he still calls Oxnard home. His parents, Alfredo and Andrea, now in their 80s, still live in the city.

“I am a product of California and of Ventura County and of Oxnard and, most importantly, of the Colonia,” Rascon said, adding that he would accept the post not for himself “but for what this country has given me and my parents.”