Schools

Wildomar WWII Navy Veteran Travels Back To Historic South Pacific Battle Scene ... To Teach

Eighty-eight-year-old Theron MacKay's journey to the Solomon Islands is part of a college program designed to teach students about the experiences of veterans.

To commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal, an 88-year-old Wildomar veteran who served during the historic World War II campaign is teaching college students about the event by traveling back to the scene with them.

On Dec. 2, seven College of the Ozarks students and six WWII veteran survivors of the Battle of Guadalcanal began a journey to the Solomon Islands in the Pacific to commemorate the campaign, which began Aug. 7, 1942 and lasted until Feb. 9, 1943.

Theron MacKay of Wildomar is on the trip, providing harrowing stories of how he survived not only the torpedoing of his vessel -- the USS CST 342 -- in the Solomon Islands but also 30 years of Navy service that included WWII, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, said College of the Ozarks spokeswoman Elizabeth Hughes.

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The Battle of Guadalcanal, the first major offensive by Allied forces against Japan, resulted in nearly 40,000 allied and Japanese deaths. Five of the students traveling with veterans on the journey have direct family ties to the battle, Hughes explained.

Other Battle of Guadalcanal veterans participating in the trip include Charles Monroe, John Christiansen, Chester Thomason, Elmer Hawkins and Paul Castiglione, Hughes said.

Find out what's happening in Lake Elsinore-Wildomarwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The contingent is traveling by ship to the various islands, such as Guadalcanal and Gizo, which comprise the Solomon chain. They are touring what were hospitals and airstrips once vital components to the campaign. They’ve been laying wreaths in waters littered with wreckage where hundreds perished in battle.

“This trip is part of the College of the Ozarks Patriotic Education Travel Program, wherein students accompany veterans to their fields of battle to learn about history and sacrifice from the individuals who lived it,” said Hughes, who explained that the college is a four-year, fully accredited Christian university located in southwest Missouri. “Student participants relish the opportunity to learn from the veterans and understand that they are in a unique position to learn and pass on precious historical accounts."

During the journey, students are recording the veterans’ stories and the trip by journaling, using voice recorders and keeping a travel blog.

“The college recognizes patriotic education travel as a powerful opportunity to reinforce one of the five goals of the college, ‘patriotic education.’ The rich educational journey provides a life-changing experience for College of the Ozarks students, who not only learn volumes of history from participants, but grow to love and appreciate them as well. Since the inaugural trip taken in 2009, 12 trips have been taken with a total of 173 students and 73 Veterans participating,” Hughes said. 

To follow the journey of the students and veterans, go to www.cofopacific.blogspot.com.


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