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Community Corner

Santa Cruz Marks Memorial Day

A contingent of service members and citizens converged at the corner of Front St. and Pacific Ave. Monday to sing, sign a time capsule and remember the fallen.

On the corner of Front St. and Pacific Ave., right in front of , about a dozen ex-service members joined an impromptu singing group Monday to honor American soldiers who've died in battle.

As "God Bless America" and "Amazing Grace" rang through the air, passerby stopped to listen to the heartfelt singing of the Santa Cruz vets and those helping them carry a tune.

"I came down to honor the military members who have served and the lost soldiers that died in battle," said Gloria Saffery, 77, of Santa Cruz.

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Saffery spent four and a half years in the air force, where she worked in hospitals as an officer. She met her husband while they were both stationed in Florida. Saffery wore a baseball cap that read, "Retired Air Force."

"I'm looking to see if there are other people with hats on too," she said.

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Ruben Gomez, 70, of Santa Cruz came with another Vietnam veteran to pay their respects and support their fellow brothers and sisters in arms.

Gomez is a lifetime member of the Disabled American Veterans. While it's been 40 years since he saw battle, he said that war is something that never goes away.

"I went to see the Vietnam Memorial wall in Washington [D.C.]," Gomez said. "I was looking for the guy who replaced me as a radio man. I realized that I could see myself reflected in the wall, and right on my forehead was the name of my replacement."

Gomez said that his replacement was killed the day after he took Gomez's spot.

"Forty years is a long time, and time does heal wounds," he said. "But in a lot of ways, it has not. I get really strong emotions sometimes, out of nowhere."

Belly dancing and Indian dance performances were also part of the celebration. A book that will serve as a time capsule invited all those who wanted the chance to share their thoughts and memories of Memorial Day.

"I wrote, 'In Memory of Warren Daves,'" said Amy Daves, 47. Daves was in Santa Cruz on vacation from Pasadena and wanted to sign a tribute to her grandfather, a veteran. 

"He fought in the Battle of the Bulge during World War II," she said. "That was one of the bloodiest battles in history. He was traumatized from it."

Daves said her grandfather died a civilian in 1989. She always knew he was a quiet, reserved man, but it wasn't until he passed away that she found out what a profound effect war had on him.

"I ended up watching the movie and learned what he want through," she said. "I spoke with my grandmother about it. She said it affected him for the rest of his life."

Singing is therapeutic, Maurice Rickets, 90, of Santa Cruz said. Rickets is a former First Class Petty Officer in the Navy. He served during World War II and helps organize the Memorial Day sing-a-long every year.

"A lot of veterans are depressed," he said. "Singing is a way of lightening up. It's joyful. It lifts people up. There's nothing to be angry about or depressed about if you're singing."

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