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Episode #759 of Hometown Heroes, airing November 12-17, 2022, is a special Veterans Day edition that highlights a Veterans Day Parade Grand Marshal, memorializes a Pearl Harbor survivor who was laid to rest on Veterans Day, and details a unique program helping today’s returning vets pursue a college education. Communities all over America held parades for Veterans Day, but how many of those parades could claim a Grand Marshal celebrating his 102nd birthday on November 11, 2022? Bakersfield, CA enjoyed that privilege, recognizing Navy veteran Victor Killingsworth, who shared his story on Hometown Heroes back in 2014.

Victor Killingsworth waves to onlookers at the 2022 Veterans Day Parade in Bakersfield, CA. Watch video of the parade from KGET-TV.

Killingsworth is author of the book, The Gator Navy: The Amphibious Navy I Knew in World War II, detailing his experiences throughout the Pacific. This Veterans Day episode features some of his memories from the invasion of Saipan in June, 1944.

Victor Killingsworth during World War II.

“The Japanese were looking down from the heights of the mountain and they had pre-zeroed in a lot of their guns,” you’ll hear Killingsworth recall. “There were shells exploding all around us as we went in.”

By the end of the three-week battle for Saipan, Killingsworth would witness some of the infamous civilian suicides from the cliff known as Marpi Point, and even played a role in helping save some civilians from that fate. You’ll hear that story, as well as his fond memories from his trip to the National World War II Memorial with Honor Flight Kern County.

Pearl Harbor survivor Ed Hall was memorialized in Las Vegas on Veterans Day, 2022.

In Las Vegas, NV on Veterans Day, a memorial service honored the city’s last known Pearl Harbor survivor Ed Hall, who passed away at the age of 99 on November 2. Click here to read Ed’s obituary from the Las Vegas Review-Journal. In keeping with Hall’s wishes, his ashes will be spread on the runway at Hickam Field, the air base on Oahu where he found himself on December 7, 1941.

Ed Hall during World War II.

“I heard the darnedest explosion you would ever want to hear in your life,” you’ll hear Hall remember. “I ran to the back door, looked up Hangar Avenue, hangars 7 and 9 had blown up and debris was flying everywhere.”

Hall, who first shared his “Day of Infamy” memories on episode #440 of Hometown Heroes in 2016, believed his life was miraculously spared on three separate occasions on December 7, 1941. He spent much of his later years honoring the 2,403 Americans who lost their lives on Oahu that day by telling his story to keep their memories alive.

The flag flying over Hickam Field on December 7, 1941.

One image that he often pointed to in presentations was a photo of the tallest flagpole at Hickam Field in the midst of the Japanese attack, an image you can view here (left). When asked what that snapshot evoked for him, Hall’s patriotism echoed through his response.

“The horrible day, and a beautiful flag defending this country as a symbol,” he quipped. “The flag of this country makes me proud every time I see it.”

The final portion of this special Veterans Day edition of Hometown Heroes focuses on college programs that are supporting our returning veterans here in the 21st Century. While many colleges and universities offer special opportunities for veterans, three are specifically mentioned in this episode.

The National Veterans Resource Center at Syracuse University.

Syracuse University boasts the Institute for Veterans and Military Families, a far-reaching initiative now anchored by the National Veterans Resource Center, which launched in 2020. In Michigan, Hillsdale College just opened the Center for Military History and Grand Strategy, an also offers a special Freedom Scholarship for veterans. Since that full scholarship is privately funded, it preserves a veteran’s G.I. Bill benefits for future educational use. In California, one special program is geared toward neutralizing the roadblocks that veterans often face when trying to take advantage of their education benefits. California State University, Fresno, better known as Fresno State, opened its Veterans Education Program (VEP) in 2012. Made possible by generation donations from the community, the program is offered at no cost to the veterans who participate.

Dean Scott Moore (right) & Associate Dean Daniel Bernard, with two graduates of Fresno State’s Veterans Education Program.

“It’s specifically designed for veterans and service members who otherwise wouldn’t have the opportunity to come straight into Fresno State as undergraduate students,” says Daniel Bernard, VEP Director. “It’s removing barriers, it’s demystifying the college experience, it’s creating a welcoming atmosphere.”

Completion of the cohort-based program gives veterans a special qualification for admission to Fresno State’s undergraduate programs, fast-tracking a process that would otherwise require a great deal more time and money for participants. Frederick Lisitsa was medically retired after four years of active duty Navy service as a sonar technician. The first generation Ukrainian-American had dropped out of high school at age 15 in order to work and help support his family. It had been a decade since he had been in any kind of non-military school setting.

Frederick Lisitsa spent four years in the U.S. Navy and is now a pre-veterinary student at Fresno State.

“I don’t know where I’d be,” you’ll hear Lisitsa say in considering the impact the VEP has had in his life. “That was such a volatile week for me, that first week coming back from the military, and I was welcomed with open arms and it gave me an outlet to pour all of my energy into. I used it well, and I’m really thankful for it.”

Click here for instructions on how to donate to Fresno State’s Veterans Education Program and extend this unique opportunity to more men and women who have served our country. Watch the video below for more on the VEP and its ongoing impact:

Happiest Veterans Day to all who have served!
—Paul Loeffler