Veterans visit Oak Park schools, recall military
By Sophia Fischer sfischer@theacorn.com

SOPHIA FISCHER/Acorn Newspapers REMEMBERING- Local veterans speak about their military service to students and staff at Oak View Continuation High School in Oak Park. From left, Glen Wilcox and Mike Green, both 66yearolds vets who served during the early 1960s; Kal Loeb, 86, and Marty Horan, 84, both World War II veterans. Loeb is holding a world map to illustrate the extent of WWII's reach.

A group of local veterans is visiting Oak Park schools throughout the month of November to talk about their experiences serving in the United States military. Two of the five schools participating held their events last week in conjunction with Veterans Day. Five veterans spoke to classes, including two World War II servicemen and three who served during peacetime in the early 1960s.

The men had many different messages for students.

"Veterans Day may be a day off from school but it's important to pay respect to the men and women who have served . . . ," said Oak Park veteran George Annino, who was in the infantry stationed in New Jersey during the early 1960s. "It's important to remember that we have the freedom to do so many things because of them. Freedom is something you just don't take for granted."

Annino spoke to students at Medea Creek Middle School, along with Kal Loeb, 86, of Agoura Hills. Loeb also spoke at Oak View Continuation High School with Marty Horan, of Oak Park. Both WWII veterans described their wartime days. Mike Green and Glen Wilcox, both of Oak Park, talked about choosing to enlist rather than be drafted during peacetime in the 1960s before Vietnam.

Loeb and Horan brought a world map to show how widespread World War II was compared with the current situation in Iraq.

Loeb, 86, enlisted after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Although he had a pilot's license and had joined the Air Force he was not permitted to fly because of color blindness. He became a mechanic, then went to engineering school. With the war quickly progressing, Loeb was transferred to a rapidly moving infantry division. He was "scared to death."

"I can only tell you the infantry is not a place you want to join if you want fun and games. It was not the nicest part of my life," Loeb said. "You do a lot of walking; you sleep in the dirt, in the snow, in the mud. I just wanted to get out of there alive."

Communication was minimal.

"Our parents knew very little about what we were doing," said Loeb, who enlisted at age 19 and completed his service five years later.

One student asked whether Loeb had been close to death.

"In a firefight you're always close to death. You pray a lot," said Loeb, whose original infantry group of 60 ended with only about a dozen survivors. "Your buddies get killed so you try not to build close relationships because they're liable to be gone tomorrow and it hurts too much."

Horan, 84, enlisted in the reserve corps through the University of Chicago, where he was a student. But as the war progressed he was taken into the army. After basic training and six months in Hawaii in the signal corps, Horan volunteered for a mission. A long, dangerous voyage on transport ships brought Horan to the island of Iwo Jima, site of fierce fighting between the United States and Japan. Horan was part of a group that dug foxholes and set up equipment.

"One thing I want to tell you. War is evil. War changes a person from a person who represents humanity to a person who must kill or be killed," Horan said.

Horan brought his uniform to Oak View and a small, weathered notebook containing Japanese handwriting that he found in Iwo Jima. A few years ago he had it translated and learned that the soldier who had owned the notebook handled rations for his unit. The postcard inside was from the soldier's mother.

"What's so significant is that the American people were for that war 100 percent," Horan said.

Green, 66, was studying at a New Jersey college when he had an argument with his parents and decided to enlist. A week later he made up with his parents and returned to the recruiter to unenlist but was told it was too late. After basic training he spent three years in Alaska as a communications expert, sending secret messages around the world. Green only went home once for a 30day leave. He believes the decision to enlist may have saved his life.

"By the time I got out of the service in 1963 the buildup of Vietnam was going on. If I had been drafted in 1964-65 I could have ended up in Vietnam," Green said.

Wilcox was also in college when he enlisted to discover what he wanted to do with his life. He spent three years in military intelligence, in Korea and Ohio, conducting background checks on servicemen. After the service he used his GI benefits to pay for college and flying lessons.

"I felt it was a smart choice to go in when I did. If you're unsettled, it's a good place to get life experience and figure out what you want to do," Wilcox said.

Many students and staff had direct connections to the military- the list of relatives who had served or were in the service was long.

"I thought it was interesting to see how energetic and happy they are. They don't look back on their service with regret," said Oak View student Brooke Gerber, 17. "They are grateful for their lives."