‘Fort Mac’ may finally fall

Well, it looks like another piece of Los Angeles history will soon be fading away: Ft. MacArthur. “Fort Mac” will always be a part of my memory, starting with my junior ROTC experience at Hollywood High in the late 1950s.

Once a year, we held military competitions on the base with junior ROTC units from other local high schools. It was always a great weekend. In mock maneuvers, we climbed over coastal artillery batteries, looked out over the Pacific to Catalina Island and imagined: What if the Japanese really did attack?

I always try to visit during the annual “Old Fort MacArthur Days” event. I walk to my old barracks and mess hall -- yes, they are still there -- and quietly think about the thousands of GIs who passed through the base and what happened to them. Hopefully, there will be a portion of the school budget to preserve some of those old buildings. They represent living history.

Jim Overman

Encino