Tehachapi's Online Community News & Entertainment Guide
Tehachapi's Online Community News & Entertainment Guide
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 36
[Editor's note: This is the continuation of our 32nd article, from our June 25, 2022 issue, in a continuing series about local military veterans and their service to our great country. The articles may contain graphic content. Reader discretion is advised.] (Raymond W. Permenter and Herbert L. Bayless are two local heroes inextricably bound together in the history of Kern County. Born on the same day, they both attended East Bakersfield High School [EBHS] in the late 1930s and early 1940s....
[Editor's note: This is the 32nd article in a continuing series about local military veterans and their service to our great country. The articles may contain graphic content. Reader discretion is advised.] (Raymond W. Permenter and Herbert L. Bayless are two local heroes inextricably bound together in the history of Kern County. Born on the same day, they both attended East Bakersfield High School [EBHS] in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Co-captains of the football team, they both joined the...
WARNING: This article contains graphic content. Reader discretion is advised. (Note: This is the continuation of our 31st article, from our April 2, 2022 issue, in a continuing series about local military veterans and their service to our great country. The articles may contain graphic content. Reader discretion is advised.) (Note: As a .50 caliber ball turret gunner in a B-17 "Flying Fortress" heavy bomber, Stanley had taken part in 11 hellish combat missions against such heavily defended...
WARNING: This article contains graphic content. Reader discretion is advised. (Note: This is the continuation of our 31st article, from our April 2, 2022 issue, in a continuing series about local military veterans and their service to our great country. Articles may contain graphic content and strong language. Reader discretion is advised. After a year of training in the Army Air Forces as an aerial gunner and radio operator, Stanley had shipped out to England in December 1943. He and his...
(Note: This is the 31st article in a continuing series about local military veterans and their service to our great country. The articles may contain graphic content. Reader discretion is advised.) Stanley J. Novak passed away late last year at the age of 98. He lived an extraordinary life, and I'm honored to (much too briefly) tell the story of this heroic Tehachapian. Stanley was born on May 13, 1923, in the town of Natrona, Pennsylvania, situated along the Allegheny River not far from...
(Note: This is the thirtieth article in a continuing series about local military veterans and their service to our great country.) In an unusual twist of sorts, David Patton ("Pat") Grier's fascinating story begins not in the United States, but in Canada, and with the Canadian Army in World War II. Many decades later, Pat and his family would settle in Tehachapi. Pat was born in the town of Fort Macleod, Alberta, Canada, on Sept. 14, 1924. He came into the world with an illustrious lineage. His...
(Note: This is the twenty-ninth article in a continuing series about local military veterans and their service to our great country.) Born on July 10, 1941, Gilbert Louis Mitchell is the only U.S. serviceman from Tehachapi initially declared "Missing in Action" (MIA) during the Vietnam War. Gilbert enlisted in the U.S. Navy Reserve in 1964. Following flight training, he was eventually assigned to Attack Squadron 75, Carrier Air Wing 11, aboard the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CVA-63), which,...
(Note: This is the twenty-eighth article in a continuing series about local military veterans and their service to our great country.) James was born in Bakersfield on March 30, 1994, but grew up in the unincorporated area of Hart Flat, where his parents owned a five-acre property. His father, David, teaches history at Tehachapi High School; his mother, Lara, taught English at the high school and other locations through 2020. As a youngster, James worked for neighbors cleaning horse stalls,...
(Note: This is the twenty-seventh article in a continuing series about local military veterans and their service to our great country.) Henry Leonard ("Len") Ochsner was born on February 3, 1923, in the township of Hellgate, Montana, at the western end of the Missoula Valley on the banks of the Clark Fork River. (As a historian, I cannot resist a fascinating historical note: "Members of the Bitterroot Salish [or Flathead] Native American tribe often traveled through the Missoula Valley on their...
(Note: This is the 26th article in a continuing series about local military veterans and their service to our great country.) Andy Selga was born on Aug. 15, 1994, in Lancaster, Calif. His father (Frank) has worked for Southern California Gas company for more than 30 years, his expertise is in the field of cathodic protection (that is, keeping underground pipes and other submerged equipment from rusting or degrading in any way). His mother, Joan, was a stay-at-home mom until her boys – she a...
On Oct. 30, the Major Jason E. George VFW Post 12114 presented the Portrait of a Warrior Gallery Kern County with Jason's ceremonial West Point sword. In a solemn ceremony, the sword was presented to the Gallery by Post Commander Russell Slover, Jr. Vice Commander Kenneth Kendall, and Quartermaster Alex Athans. The sword will be on loan to the gallery for an indefinite period; Jason's mother, Candy Mason, had presented her son's sword to the VFW post this past May, over Memorial Day weekend....
(Note: This is the 25th article in a continuing series about local military veterans and their service to our great country.) Alberto was born on March 9, 1984, in Delano, California. He grew up in Bakersfield, California, raised by a single mom (Maria Garcia). Alberto was the youngest of three children, having two older sisters, Mercedes and Veronica. He attended Vista West High School in Bakersfield, a satellite institution of South High School. While Albert didn't participate in sports...
(Note: This is the 24th article in a continuing series about local military veterans and their service to our great country.) "As we landed in Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam, our commanding officer gave us a little welcoming address. 'Now boys, I want you to shake the hands of the person on your left and right. One won't be going home alive, the other will return wounded, or diseased. Good luck.' This little speech hit us all with the true realities of fear and confusion. This just could not be happening...
(Note: This is the twenty-third article in a continuing series about local military veterans and their service to our great country.) Adam was born on November 6, 1979, in Bakersfield, California to Richard and Donna Zanutto. He spent most of his much-too-short life in Walker Basin, a valley in the Southern Sierra Nevada with magnificent scenery and spectacular sunsets that locals long ago had christened "God's Country." More specifically, he grew up outside Bakersfield in the town of Caliente,...
(Note: This is the 22nd article in a continuing series about local military veterans and their service to our great country.) John came into this crazy, mixed-up world on January 28, 1917, born in Globe (Gila County), Arizona to John and Willhelmina Farnham Pruden. He came of age during the hardships of the Great Depression, serving for a year with the Civilian Conservation Corps building fire roads in Southern California (including in the San Gabriel Mountains). He enlisted in the Navy in 1935....
(Note: This is the twenty-first article in a continuing series about local military veterans and their service to our great country.) Bill was born on October 5, 1930, in the little town of Cody, Nebraska. While still an infant, he and his family moved to the state capital, Lincoln, where Bill grew up and went to school. His father was a baker, his mother worked as what in those days was called a "practical nurse," providing 24-hour, seven-day-a-week care to sick and disabled clients. Bill got...
(Note: This is the 20th article in a continuing series about local military veterans and their service to our great country.) Michael Gillum was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, on March 1, 1946. He belonged to a family of giants: his father was 6' 3" and his younger brother 6' 8" in height, while Michael himself grew to be 6' 6" tall (his older brother only made it to 6'). His father served in the Army Air Corps as an aircraft mechanic in WWII in the Italian theater of war; while Michael's...
WARNING: This article contains graphic content. Reader discretion is advised. (Note: This is the 19th article in a continuing series about local military veterans and their service to our great country.) Born on Dec. 21, 1947, in Red Bluff, California, Todd was the eldest of six children. His father, from a poor family, was a truck driver and a veteran of World War II (he had somehow managed to enlist at the tender age of 15!) and the Korean War. Todd's mother was a stay-at-home mom, who, no...
On Saturday, July 11, the Kern County Museum in Bakersfield hosted a book signing event for authors of books on military history. Despite the stifling heat (111 degrees outdoors!), which, no doubt, had a negative impact on attendance, the event was considered quite a success by everyone involved. A big shout out goes to Brenna Charatsaris, the museum events coordinator, for her terrific support and enthusiasm. Also deserving of gratitude are Dr. David Day and his wife Kathy, who supported event...
(Note: This is the 18th article in a continuing series about local military veterans and their service to our great country. Yet, it is the first article showcasing a local veteran who landed on Omaha Beach in Normandy, France on D-Day.) John Grenek grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In January 1940, having just finished high school, he enlisted in the Minnesota National Guard. In 1941, the National Guard was federalized and his unit dispatched to Camp Claiborne, Louisiana. Following basic...
Military history enthusiasts, we are proud to invite you to a Military History Authors book signing, hosted by the Kern County Museum, 3810 Chester St., Bakersfield, on Saturday, July 10, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Several of Kern County's top military history authors, including authors from Tehachapi, with be signing and offering their books at great prices. Book topics include: a) the Eastern Front and Normandy campaign in WW2; b) the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan; c) the Israeli Air...
(Note: This is the 17th article in a continuing series about local military veterans and their service to our great country. It is also the second article focusing on World War II. Like Bill Jasper and Henry Martinez [February 13, 2021 issue of The Loop], Mr. Hubbard took part in stopping the massive last-ditch German offensive on the Western Front that began in December 1944, and which is commonly known to Americans as the Battle of the Bulge.) Emery Hubbard was inducted into the military on De...
This is the 16th article in a continuing series about local military veterans and their service to our great country. Diane was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on Dec. 12, 1943. When she was very young she moved with her parents to Wilmington, Delaware. Her father, an electrician, made a career with Delaware Power & Light, while her mother was a stay-at-home mom. When Diane was just 10 years old tragedy struck when her father died suddenly. "It was a tough time," she recalled, "and mom had to...
Military history enthusiasts, we are proud to invite you to a Military History Authors book signing, hosted by the Kern County Museum, 3810 Chester St., Bakersfield, on Saturday, July 10, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Several of Kern County’s top military history authors, including authors from Tehachapi, with be signing and offering their books at great prices. Book topics include: a) the Eastern Front and Normandy campaign in WW2; b) the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan; c) the Israeli Air F...
This is the 15th article in a continuing series about local military veterans and their service to our great country. Ron was born in Wichita, Kansas, on Sept. 6, 1947. His father, just out of the service – he had fought with the Army in the Pacific Theater, at one time becoming trapped behind Japanese lines for six months until being rescued – was going to school in Wichita for the Boeing Aircraft Company, for which he would work as a machinist for several years. As a young boy, Ron moved bac...
