Community Corner
Soldiers Remembered In Wildomar
Wildomar Cemetery welcomed hundreds who turned out to pay tribute to service members, past and present.
CORRECTION: This story previously stated that the Navy conducted the flyovers. That information was incorrect. Also, a photo caption incorrectly identified Senior Master Sergeant Joe Grimes as Navy; he is Air Force. In another photo caption, Air Force Honor Guards were incorrectly identified as Navy.
The Memorial Day service hosted by Faith Baptist Church and officiated by Pastor Bruce Goddard at Wildomar Cemetery contained all the elements found in formal ceremonies: There were dignitary attendees including Assemblyman Kevin Jeffries and Wildomar City Council members, and the Baptist Boys Troop Battalion. There was entertainment provided by the volunteer church youth group Blue Denim and Lace, and there were two impressive flyovers.
But even with all the ceremonial effort, the focus of the Memorial Day service was on fondly remembering those individuals who served their country.
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“We are not here for any political agenda. We are here to say ‘thank you’ and remember,” Pastor Goddard told the audience.
Wildomar resident Navy Post Clerk Gil Rasmussen (Da-Nang, 1968-1969) emphasized the importance of remembering and sharing history of the “bullets, beans and mail,” and the highly decorated Marine, 1st Sgt. Charles Schlader of Sun City, said, “Today I am remembering my boys I lost in 1966 and other deceased veterans.”
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Always a military man, Schlader proudly declared, “Our son, who is now a lawyer, was enlisted for 10 years and our daughter, a current volunteer in the Marine Corp League, completed six years.”
The list of accomplished soldier attendees at Monday’s service was long and impressive, and there was storytelling all around.
Wildomar resident David Robertson, 92, recalled his enlisted time in the Navy alongside John F. Kennedy.
He was a “skinny guy and a heck of a good swimmer,” Robertson said of the former president.
Detailing Kennedy’s “heroic and foolish” efforts to swim the several-mile channel to catch the returning evening patrol boats that came to rescue his crew, Robertson reveled in the moment.
But after the Memorial Day service ended, Robertson candidly shared his respect for the famous man who was just another soldier in a bloody war.
Kennedy, he said, was “a quiet man, always reading.”
