Document text
By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune November 11. 2014 5:41PM The meaning behind Veterans Day Post 14 commander Ted Sockman, 86, feels that not enough people understand the real meaning of Veterans Day. Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Ted Sockman admits Veterans Day and its predecessor, Armistice Day, were not major events on the family calendar when he was growing up. Today, the 86-year-old Korean War veteran has a vastly different perspective, one he fervently desires for present and future generations to understand. "I just was simply not aware of these things when I was growing up," Sockman said. "I obviously became very aware and dedicated to the cause of trying to inform people. Now it's extremely important. I look at pictures of young men who lost their lives — 22-, 23-year-olds — and you wonder, was it all worth it? Did we need to go through this? It is a dedication on my part, and I feel obligated to do everything possible to get the word out of how important these holidays are." On Tuesday, the commander of  American Legion Post 14 in Ashland took part in an annual pancake breakfast at Pioneer Hall on Winburn Way. The event drew both aging veterans and schoolchildren. Sockman said he's concerned neither schools nor students put enough emphasis on Veterans Day and what it means to service men and women and their families. "The schools really don't know, and for the most part haven't any idea why they are getting the day off," Sockman said. "They just take it. They get no instruction to my knowledge, and it's a very sad situation when these young men and women are not told of the sacrifices made by so many, whether they were killed or not."  He understands, however, how easy it is to be indifferent to such matters, and how easily all that can change. Sockman's father was too young to participate in World War I service and too old for World War II, but Sockman's own scenario proved much different. "I was in UCLA when the Korean War broke out," he said. "In 1948, Harry S. Truman said that all you fellas who are between 18 and 25 will register for the draft or take a chance of being actually drafted. In order to stay in college, some of my buddies and I did that very thing." Hoping to thwart an early exit from his studies, Sockman joined up with a National Guard unit in nearby Santa Monica. His goal was to stay in college until he had his degree. "I didn't object to going in," Sockman said. "I just wanted to finish." Then on June 25, 1950, the conflict broke out and his National Guard unit was activated. He was ordered to report for duty on Sept. 1, 1950, at Camp Cook, now Vandenberg Air Force Base. In October 1951, he was on a troop ship headed to Japan. From there he was deployed to Korea, where he waded ashore at Incheon. During his six months on the peninsula, Sockman never fired a shot in anger, nor was he targeted during his mostly nighttime ammunition supply missions to artillery batteries flanked by Turkish and South Korean allies. "Even though I was in a combat zone, all I did was take target practice," said Sockman, who rose to the rank of staff sergeant. On his way home, he returned to Japan. His train passed through Nagasaki, which seven years earlier had been leveled by the "Fat Man" nuclear bomb. "I could not believe the disaster of Nagasaki," he said. "The part the train went through was devastated, just flat. I was awe-stricken by the incredible destruction the atomic bomb had, it was unbelievable." Such haunting elements of war, nonetheless, failed to dissuade him from performing his mission alongside his fellow soldiers. "I have absolutely no regrets whatsoever for serving my country," Sockman said. Among those commemorating Veterans Day in Ashland was Frank D'Entremont, a 97-year-old Marine veteran who was on active duty prior to Hitler's invasion of Poland in September 1939, which pulled Britain and France into war with Germany. His fluent French skills landed him a covert assignment as a military intelligence officer that led him to posts in Cuba, the Caribbean and, later, South America. D'Entremont, who now lives in Medford, was assigned to take out German weather-monitoring installations, helping to limit the Third Reich's encroachment into the Americas and halt gun smugglers. As a child he remembers watching World War I troops march through Boston on Nov. 11. "It mainly consisted of a parade," he said. "Veterans Day is important to remember the things we did." Another war in another era divided the country, something that still troubles Mike Bakke, a 64-year-old Ashland certified public accountant. He grew up in Albany, which for decades has staged one of the region's largest Veterans Day celebrations. "I grew up and followed in my brother's footsteps and went into the Air Force. I served during the Vietnam era. I didn't have to go to Vietnam, but I served during that era. We are very proud of our veterans now, they get a lot more deserved recognition than we did." Bakke, who was in the Air Force from 1964 until 1969, recalled perplexing attitudes and actions of the period. "I would get negative input from friends that it wasn't the right thing. I don't know how you would argue that now," he said. "The means of communication is better now. All you had during Vietnam was what you saw on TV. You didn't get real good feedback as to what our young men and women were going through. During these last several wars we've been involved in, our guys are being more and more appreciated." Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 541-776-4463 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GregMTBusiness, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/greg.stiles.31, and read his blog at www.mailtribune.com/Economic Edge.           http://www.mailtribune.com/article/20141111/NEWS/141119903 © 2015 Copyright © 1995-2011 Crain Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use Privacy Statement -->