Born January 27, 1928 in Philadelphia, PA, Harry enlisted in the Army in 1946. He served his county for two years in Japan at the end of World War Il. During his time in Japan, his friend signed him up for paratrooper's school. On the first jump, during turbulent weather, many of the paratroopers were injured. That was the first and last time he ever jumped. Harry was also very creative with his money during his time in Japan. They would ration out cigarettes and he didn't smoke. He would sell them to the Japanese to make a little extra money.
Following discharge from the Army, he went to school for aircraft repair and maintenance. He purchased a small plane and restored it in his aircraft repair school. He went on to get his pilot license. Harry enjoyed flying the plane for a few years.
In 1948 he joined the Navy Reserves and 1950 was activated and stationed in Barbers Point Hawaii during the Korean War. After serving in the reserves, he entered college in 1953 at Long Beach State University and received his degree in Industrial Arts. He then began teaching in Orange County California.
He met his wife Joy in 1952 at the Methodist Church. They got married in 1954 and had three sons Mark, Scott and Curtis. They raised their three boys in Garden Grove California. In the 1960's he received his master degree from Whittier College. After 30 years he retired from teaching. Harry and his wife decided to retire in Prescott Arizona. They lived there for 25 years. During his time in Prescott he volunteered at the VA Hospital. Harry and Joy now reside in Orange County California and enjoy their 12 Grand Kids and 12 Great Grandchildren.
Patrick Zilliacus was born in Helsinki, Finland, May 11, 1926. Also lived in Sweden and Italy, coming to the US in December 1939. He was inducted into the US Navy on June 30, 1943 in Indianapolis, IN. Following Boot Camp, Torpedo and Submarine Schools, he was assigned to the USS Spot in Mare Island, CA. He made four successful war patrols sinking 17 enemy ships and destroying a radar station. He and the crew survived numerous depth charge attacks, surface gunfights, and tells an amazing story of escaping depth charge attacks by sailing submerged thru minefields in the Formosa Strait, along the way hearing mine cables scraping the hull of the ship.
Patrick left the USS Spot at the end of the war and stayed in the Active Reserve. He attended Officer Submarine School and sailed on several submarine cruises. He was urged to go into Naval Intelligence due to his extensive travel and language qualifications. Nuclear Subs were coming in then and diesel boaters were becoming obsolete. He declined the honor since going to the Navy Language School was impossible due to civilian career demands. He was honorable discharged as Lt. J.G. in June 1961.
Married to Mercedes Zilliacus, they have four children, five grandsons. At age 97, started writing action novels (including "Blockade", "Cerberus","Cerberus on Mars", "Stops Along the Way"), and he painted the original watercolor illustrations for the books.
Born on August 16, 1927, Leon Silverman graduated from Cleveland Ohio Technical High School where he majored in Aeronautics; hoping to become an Aeronautical Engineer. In January 1945 he enlisted in the U.S. Navy to become a Navy pilot. He took the required tests, was sworn in, and placed on 24 hour call. 7 months later he received orders to go to boot camp in Samson, NY.
He completed boot camp and was assigned to the Great Lakes Naval Station to attend Storekeeper disbursing school. After training, he was assigned duty loading box cars. He was later re-assigned to the Lido Beach separation Center in Long Island, NY where he was assigned to the motor pool and drove trucks and buses until being discharged in August 1946, never having been a Navy Pilot as he had hoped.
Leon attended UCLA and tried out for the Freshman basketball team under Legendary Coach John Wooden. He completed his B.S. degree and spent many years as an accountant with the U.S. Air Force that took him to Germany, France, Australia and South Africa amongst others. He once hosted Coach Wooden while living in Germany. Leon then Space Systems in CA and after 30 years of service retired in 1984.
Leon met the love of his life, Anna, in 1996. Married in 2000, they recently celebrated their 25th anniversary. Leon loves to sing and has sung at many events. At his young age of 98, he will be singing the National Anthem on July 4th for the LA Galaxy Soccer match.
In 1952, at the age of 20, Robert Duff was drafted into the United States Army as a private. The Korean war had been going on for roughly two years. He was trained to become a combat infantry soldier, becoming proficient with the tools of that era; rifles, mortars, chemical and biological warfare, grenades, you name it. Upon completion of training, he was sent to Korea with the 224th Infantry Regiment, 40th Division. He spent nearly 15 months in Korea where his company was continually engaged in battle. His primary goal each day was surviving the war, living conditions, and often brutally cold weather. He was obviously a natural leader. He advanced in rank to Private 1st class, then corporal, then sergeant, and lastly Sergeant 1st class. Many have been known to take 20 years to accomplish what he did in 11 months. He says life got better as you advanced in rank. On July 23rd, 1953, an armistice was signed which effectively ended the Korean conflict and created the cease fire area still known today as the DMZ. No official peace agreement was ever signed. Sergeant Duff returned to the US in 1954 and says he couldn’t wait to get back. He was awarded the Combat Infantry Badge, numerous battle stars, and an Ambassador for Peace award from Korea. He has continued to support the military through his involvement with the American Legion in Newport Beach for 32 years.
Upon his return to civilian life, Robert got into the title insurance and escrow business, working for a small title business in Orange County with 71 employees. He worked several years for them while that company became 1st American Title, a nationwide company with 33,000 employees. He later started his own real estate business, owns multiple properties, and is still active today running his business which manages over $100 million dollars worth of assets.
