Honoring those who have served our country

By Michael Brewer
Special to the Alpine Mountaineer

This Veterans Day, Nov. 11, veterans, their families, their friends and community members will gather at the veterans memorial at Arrowhead Ridge at 11 a.m. to honor those who served. 

Some of those veterans saw combat; others worked in a supporting role behind the scenes. They all served their country with pride and dignity.

Who are the veterans in the mountain communities? The Alpine Mountaineer is sharing the stories of five who represent a wide spectrum of those who served.

Charlie and Kevin Brown – father-son mountain veterans

Charlie Brown, who served as a U.S. Navy Aviation boatsman mate, was born on April 20, 1960, in Santa Monica. His father, Bill Brown, was a radio operator in the Army in Germany during the Korean war. His mother, Bernall, was a nurse and office manager for a doctor’s office.

The family moved to Sunland-Tujunga where Charlie graduated from Verdugo Hills High School in 1979, where he met his future wife, Glenace.

Fueled by a youthful desire to see the “big blue wet thing – the high seas,” Charlie elected to join the U.S. Navy where he spent five years in Aviation as a plane handler. Mustering out in 1983, Charlie worked in the car stereo sales and installation business, transitioning to the burgeoning cell phone programming and repair enterprises. 

Charlie has been part of the mountain community for 30 years and had served as the quartermaster for the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Cedarpines Park for the past 10 years.

Charlie’s son, Kevin Brown, a mountain native, has followed suit with the family history of miltary service by joining the U.S. Army following graduation from Rim of the World High School in 2006. 

Following boot camp at Fort Sill, Okla., Kevin was assigned to the storied 10^th Mountain Division as an ammunition specialist with deployments to both Iraq and Afghanistan. 

When queried about the residuals of war, Kevin said, “Well, once visiting the old George Air Force Base, long ago abandoned, it did bug me out a bit as it looked like bombed out areas in OEF/OIF wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.” 

The camaraderie of a father-son storytelling session was quite unique.

Richard Jellerson

Richard W. Jellerson was born in 1947 in Norway, Maine. His father, William, worked for Boeing; his mother, Edith, was a nurse and later worked as a medical office manager. 

When asked about the move to California in his youth, Richard admits, “You don’t see many license plates here from Maine!”

Richard graduated from Pasadena High School in 1965 with one prevailing hobby: dirt bikes. Richard still rides to this day. “My only other pastime was collecting airplane cards. Some boys collected baseball cards. I just loved airplanes.”

When it is suggested this was his early leaning toward being a pilot, Richard said it was but, with only two years at Pasadena Community College, “I was not yet a candidate for the Army. I had to seek private flight lessons and was later recruited as a warrant officer to fly Huey helicopters in Vietnam with the 116^th 1^st Assault Division, flying hundreds of missions near Cu Chi, Vietnam.” The war was rapidly losing pilots so Richard was immediately sent into combat.

Following Richard’s first tour of duty, he was transferred to the 120^th Aviation Group and assigned to flying for General Richardson, who reported directly to Richard Nixon. The duty was a segue to becoming the primary pilot for 4-Star General Abrams, flying with the code name Task Master 6. 

Following his military service, Richard took a run at being a commercial pilot but, he noted, “Pilots were stacked up like cordwood after the war so I gave a shot at law school, lasting one year.” He later found a job as a writer for an ad agency and a documentary producer. He then elected to launch his own documentary production, starting with one for the History Channel titled A Solemn Promise: Americans Missing in Action.

Richard’s mountain desire to chronicle his own war experiences have resulted in his current book, My War with Vietnam: A Pilot’s Healing Journey Home From the War.

Richard Jellerson is an active member of the mountain veterans community and a frequent contributor to the Veterans Day celebration in Lake Arrowhead.

Ernesto Navarro

 

 

 

Ernie Navarro was born on June 21, 1949, on Montebello to parents Mike Navarro and Patsy Garcia. He graduated from Montebello High School in 1967 with baseball on his resume, which later resulted in a recruiting session with the LA Dodgers.

Ernie joined the U.S. Marine Corps and served two tours in Vietnam in 1968-1969, operating a 106 recoiless rifle with 1/4 Marines near Con Thien. He was embedded in both Tet of 1968 and Tet of 1969, two of the most significant and bloodiest times of the war.

Following being shot in the foot, Ernie was transferred to convalesce. While recovering, a Chaplain Turner encountered Ernie and proclaimed: “I want a chaplain’s aid and bodyguard who is the meanest, ugliest Marine to be found.” That became Ernie, though hardly an unattractive man.

Ernie passed away on Aug. 18, 2023, leaving behind a legacy of love, courage and dedication to his family and the Corps. 

That legacy is kept alive and well by way of his grandsons, Shawn and Frankie, both of whom are serving in the Marine Corps.

Ernie’s wife, Lizzie, recalls two poignant vignettes about Ernie saving the chaplain’s life by throwing himself in front of him as a shield and punching him to move while screaming, “God ain’t gonna save you here – now move away and listen to me!” The chaplain complied and it saved his life. An encore event occurred later on another operation with Ernie again saving the life of Chaplain Turner, who currently resides in San Diego.