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Memorial Day tribute to fallen Newport Harbor soldiers

Memorial Day tribute to fallen Newport Harbor soldiers
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Numerous former Sailors fought for our country and gave the ultimate sacrifice and today we salute them with honor and tears.

Monday, March 27, 2024

Today is Memorial Day, one of the most important holidays in our country, and we are prompted to honor and salute all of the fallen soldiers, including those from Newport Harbor High who gave the ultimate sacrifice.

There were numerous Newport Harbor graduates who went on to serve our country in the military in World War II in the European and Pacific theaters. At press time for the 1943 Galleon yearbook, 353 former Newport Harbor men had entered the service, and many more, including standout athletes such as 1944 All-CIF Southern Section football players Joe Muniz and Dick Freeman, would follow.

According to school archives, 1934 Newport Harbor gridiron blocking back George Shafer, a combat infantryman in the Philippines, was the first from the school to lose his life in battle in WWII.

Shortly after D-Day on June 6, 1944, the school newspaper reported that 11 former Newport Harbor students had been killed in WWII combat – eight of them were Sam Allen, Jim Harvey, William Hourigan, Max Jordan, Pat Jordan, Eugene Marzolf, Robert Meek and Leslie Mitchell.

While the passing and each and every name evokes emotion and gratitude for living in this great free nation, another WWII casualty of Tar Ball lore includes Vernon Fitzpatrick, the quarterback of the Sailors’ 1942 Sunset League championship team. Fitzpatrick was machine-gunned down in mid-air by Japanese fighter planes while parachuting over Leyte in the Philippines on Dec. 8, 1944.

Newport Harbor High students fought in every America war since WWII, including Korea, and the first known fatality of the Vietnam War was Ron Troyano, a quarterback for the Tars in the late 1960s. Roland Dean Troyano (Class of 1969), a Private First Class in the U.S. Army, is buried at the Bayview Terrance section of Pacific View Memorial Park in Corona del Mar under the name Ron D. Troyano.

“Ron was our first friend to lose his life in Vietnam,” Newport Harbor football teammate Denny Bean said.

Thomas F. Lee, a friend from Ensign Junior High, wrote: “Ron was a magnificent athlete. In fact, his name was on the gym wall for setting a record in track and field. He had everything going for him: intelligence, looks, popularity, grace and style. His greatest virtue was kindness. In that regard, he was my good friend when junior high bullying (would reign) down on me. I was heartbroken when I saw his name on the Vietnam (Veterans Memorial) wall in Washington D.C.”

Rest in peace to all former U.S. military members who died: Thank you for your service. We will always be indebted to your ultimate sacrifice to preserve freedom.

Remember those names, etch them in your heart and shed a tear today with your fellow Americans.

God bless America.

Richard Dunn

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