Mexican American pilots of World War II is topic of April 16 presentation |
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The Fighting for the Right to Fight Speaker Series at Heroes Hall Museum continues with its fourth presentation on Saturday, April 16, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Judge Frederick Aguirre will present a photographic display of 11 World War II bomber pilots. He will weave in statistics regarding the service of more than 500,000 Mexican American service members in WWII and discuss the challenges they faced due to their Mexican heritage.
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SPEAKER SERIES
Eagles in the Sky: Mexican American Pilots of WWII
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When: Saturday, April 16, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Where: Heroes Hall Museum at the OC Fairgrounds
Admission and parking are free. Space is limited.
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About the speaker:
Judge Aguirre was born in 1946 in Fullerton and attended public schools in Placentia. He attended USC on an academic scholarship and graduated in 1968. He attended UCLA School of Law on a UC Regent’s Fellowship and graduated in 1971. He practiced law in San Jose until 1974, then returned to practice in Orange County from 1974 to 2002. In 2002 he was appointed to the Superior Court bench in Orange County and served until his retirement in 2017. He presently is a private Arbitrator and Mediator. Judge Aguirre, his wife Linda, and Rogelio Rodriguez have co-authored three books profiling over 2,000 Mexican American veterans of World War II, Korean War and Vietnam.
For more information about the Speaker Series, contact Carol Singleton at 714-397-7300.
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Speaker Series connects community members with one another and country's military history |
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Erik Brun: 54th Coastal Artillery |
Erik Brun (left), a historian from Morro Bay, speaks with Edwin Smith and Van Hartley after his March 5 presentation at Heroes Hall on the 54th Coastal Artillery Regiment, an all-Black unit that guarded the California Coast during World War II. Brun wore a WWII officers uniform and reenacted a military briefing to add authenticity to his presentation. |
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Patricia Jackson-Kelley: The Six Triple Eight |
Lt. Col. Patricia Jackson-Kelley (center) celebrated with other top brass, Major General (ret.) Peter Gravett and his wife, Col. (ret.) Blanche Gravett, after her informative March 19 presentation on the all-Black, all-female U.S. Army Unit, the 6888 Postal Directory Battalion, who served in Europe in World War II. |
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Janice Munemitsu: The Kindness of Color |
Janice Munemitsu poses with the audience at Heroes Hall after her inspiring April 2 presentation on her new book The Kindness of Color about her Japanese American family's internment during World War II and her neighbors' fight for racial equality.
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Heroes Hall honors the passing of two
World War II heroes from Orange County
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Irwin Galter
February 25, 1924, to January 17, 2022
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Irwin Galter with wife Rita on a fishing trip in the early years of their marriage. |
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Irwin Galter was born in Chicago, Illinois, on February 25, 1924. He grew up along the shores of Lake Michigan and enjoyed diving off the rocks into the lake, building model airplanes, and participating in competitive swimming and baseball.
Galter graduated from high school in 1941 and enlisted in the US Army Air Force just as the US entered World War II. He completed his preflight training to become a navigator at the Santa Ana Army Air Base. After advanced training, he was deployed to the South Pacific, where he was stationed in New Guinea and assigned to a B-24 bomber crew. On his very first bombing mission, he participated in the Battle of Leyte Gulf and his plane made a direct hit on a Japanese war ship the Abukuma. He later learned that the Abukuma participated in the attack on Pearl Harbor.
After the war ended, Galter left the military and went to college, where he graduated in 1949 from Illinois Institute of Technology with a BS in electrical engineering. On August 24, 1950, Galter married his wife, Rita, and in 1954, their son Robert was born.
Galter held a variety of engineering jobs, which moved the family around the country including to Grand Rapids, Michigan; Denver, Colorado; Menlo Park; Birmingham, Michigan; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and eventually San Diego.
Some highlights from Galter’s career include working for Martin Corporation on the ICBM Titan booster, which carried astronauts into space in the Gemini program; (Ford) Philco on space communication; LTV Corporation on the tactical nuclear capable Lance surface-to-surface missile navigation systems; and Astronautics Corporation on navigational cockpit displays for the F-111 fighter bomber.
In 1978, Galter started his own business, LectroLogic Corporation, and worked on B1 bomber cockpit CRT high-voltage power supplies. He eventually sold the business to Sanders Corporation. After moving to Southern, California, he worked at Hughes Aircraft Corporation until he retired in 1989.
After retirement, Galter remained active. He ran two half marathons and competed in the Senior Olympics in San Diego in swimming. He played competitive men’s league softball in North County San Diego, where he was in the top 10 hitters in the whole league. He and his wife traveled extensively including RV tours around the U.S. and Canada, cruises around the Pacific Rim, and trips to China, Norway, Holland, Denmark, Israel, England, Italy and Spain.
In March 2020 the couple moved to Costa Mesa, and on Aug. 8, 2021, after 71 years of marriage, Rita passed away, leaving the family devastated. Several months after her death, Galter visited Heroes Hall Museum, where he was interviewed about his military service and his time at the Santa Ana Army Air Base. On Nov. 11, 2021, Galter was declared Veteran of the Year by Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley.
Galter passed away from natural causes on January 17, 2022.
His son Robert sums up his life with these words: “He saw the world, loved his country as the best place on Earth, and had a great life basking in freedom.”
The staff of Heroes Hall Museum was honored and delighted to get to know Irwin during the last few months of his life and to give him some happiness, which he so richly deserved.
Rest in peace, our friend.
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Mary Joan Evans Morris
February 4, 1923, to January 15, 2022
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Mary Joan Evans Morris served in India during WWII in the Army Nurse Corps. |
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Mary Joan Evans Morris was born February 4, 1923, in Omaha, Nebraska. She joined the Army Nurse Corps shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor. After nurses training and boot camp, Mary Joan and several other nurses received orders for India. They departed on a ship from California, which had to zigzag across the Pacific to avoid submarine attacks. After a month at sea and a short respite in Australia, the ship pulled into Calcutta. After spending 10 days in Calcutta, she boarded a plane for Ledo, Assam, where she began work at the 20th General Hospital. The U.S. and its allies had come to Ledo to build a supply road to China to replace the Burma Road, which had been cut by the Japanese in 1942.
U.S. Army doctors, nurses, and orderlies staffed the hospital. They were housed in “bashas” made of bamboo, with palm frond roofs, dirt floors and swinging doors that did not latch. The nurses slept with netting over their beds. During her time in India, Mary Joan took care of patients with jeep injuries, tropical diseases (malaria being the most common), various infections and foot problems due to men working in tropical conditions, wearing wet boots too long. She also had to put up with dense jungle surrounding her, oppressive heat and humidity, strange wildlife, and a multitude of bugs. Electricity was limited and water was scarce.
During her time in India, Mary Joan and her nursing buddy, Betty, would work long hours, but always found time for fun. When the nurses had down time, they would enjoy going to a swim club where young Indian men would fan them with huge palm fronds or the nurses would go out to dinner with young officers at the Officer’s Club. They took a trip to Agra to see the Taj Mahal and nearby fort. Handing out candy to young children and riding elephants were common memories for many of the nurses serving in India. Coming back from any of these outings usually allowed them only a few hours of sleep before they were hard at work once again.
After a year in India, Mary Joan returned stateside. Soon after returning home, she became engaged to her husband, Chuck, who had served in the Army Air Force in Northern Africa. They married him on June 22, 1946. The couple settled in California and had three children. While her children were young, Mary Joan was a stay-at-home mom, but she eventually returned to nursing. She worked a night shift in the newborn ward at Hoag Hospital and later became the teenage clinic nurse at Kaiser.
Being part of the Greatest Generation who served her country during WWII, she was able to have the amazing experience of going to Washington DC as part of the Honor Flight Program. Mary Joan passed away on January 15, 2022, in Newport Beach.
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Anaheim Semper Fun Run/Walk to raise funds for the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit |
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What: 7th annual 5K & 10K Fun Run/Walk helps raise money for Anaheim's adopted military unit based out of Camp Pendleton: the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit.
Date: May 21, 2022
Time: 6 to 11 a.m.
Location: Riverdale Park, Anaheim Hills
The Anaheim Semper 5K & 10K Fun Run/Walk is sponsored by the Anaheim 13th MEU Adoption Committee. Established in 2007 when the City of Anaheim officially adopted the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) based at Camp Pendleton, this volunteer-based, citizen-run 501(c)(3) group provides meaningful support to the Marines and Sailors of the 13th MEU and their family members. With the generous support of runners and sponsors, all event proceeds provide emergency relief funds as needs arise, subsidize holiday events, provide Welcome Home Bags and festivities, Newborn Baby baskets, Spouse Deployment Education and much more throughout the year.
Visit Anaheim13thMEU.org to see a list and explanation of all programs supported. Come out in your best red, white and blue and help support our wonderful heroes.
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Heroes Hall is located next to Centennial Farm on the fairgrounds in Costa Mesa. The museum is open to the public year-round.
OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa is home to the annual OC Fair and Imaginology. Year-round attractions include Centennial Farm, Table of Dignity, Heroes Hall and Pacific Amphitheatre. Throughout the year, events ranging from recreation shows to cultural festivals are held at the Fairgrounds. For more information, visit ocfair.com.
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Support of OC Fair & Event Center provides year-round educational opportunities and helps fund community give-back programs. |
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