By Mary O’KEEFE

Crescenta Valley High School is the only high school within Glendale Unified School District that has a JROTC (Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps) program – a successful and popular program. And, after 14 years, the program’s teacher/mentor Lt. Col. David Worley is retiring.

“It’s a bit bittersweet,” he said after the JROTC’s banquet last Saturday. “But its time.”

The JROTC banquet was held at Clark Magnet High School, as it has been for many years and, although it was the last banquet Worley would lead, there was no big goodbye but just a small presentation toward the end of the event. The evening, as Worley’s program has always been, was all about the kids.

“I want to call Grace Kim up [to the stage] one more time,” Worley said at the banquet. In the JROTC, the highest rank, normally, is cadet major.

“Before she leaves the corps, I think she should be promoted to Cadet Lt. Colonel,” he announced.

Kim, a senior and four-year member of JROTC, gasped when she heard of her promotion. Kim has been a dedicated member and leader of JROTC, and Worley recognized that.

Some have a misconception that the JROTC program at CVHS builds future soldiers, but that has never been the case. The CVHS JROTC program, Worley has said several times, is about leadership. The mission of the JROTC is to “develop citizens of character, dedicated to serving their nation and community.” The program includes classes where students learn about the history of aviation and, in fact, has flight simulators in the classroom. Students learn to appreciate the history of aerodynamics from the Wright brothers to modern aviation.

The cadets competed in the Air Force National JROTC Drill Championship Series in Daytona, Florida, started a Junior Eagles Camp, which was an outreach project for Rosemont Middle School students, and competed as finalists in the Academic Bowl that was held in Washington, D.C.

“The Academic Bowl is a competition which tests a team of cadets on leadership and military information, and also on other academic information such as reading comprehension, grammar, science, math and current world affairs,” said Samuel Park, one of the members of the Academic Bowl team, in an earlier interview with CVW.

When the public sees the JROTC cadets, it is usually when they are performing as color guard at numerous events and meetings including the Crescenta Valley Town Council, Hometown Country Fair, and Memorial Day and Veterans Day ceremonies. They are also seen volunteering at several events and each time they are serious and focused on what they are there to do; however, on Saturday it was time to have fun, laugh and joke with each other – all the while remaining respectful and still saluting military superiors – even General Smoosh, an indescribable but well-decorated stuffed animal that acts as a mascot for the CVHS JROTC.

Saturday’s banquet was a mix of fun and respect, which parallels the program’s values. The cadets were presented with awards by representatives of national organizations and honored guests that included Lt. Col. Robert Friend, a Tuskegee Airman who served in the 332nd Fighter Group in World War II. Friend has visited the JROTC in the past and spoke to the cadets, sharing his story.

There was a brief moment when Worley was able to recognize the strength behind his leadership, his wife Gayle. He presented her with flowers and, to the delight and cheers of his cadets, gave his wife a kiss.

There were moments of recognition of those who have supported the program over the years including CVHS Assistant Principal Sungsook Kim and Dolores Kelly.

The unit was the recipient of the 2017 Distinguished Unit Award, a recognition given by Headquarters AFJROTC. Overall, 41 cadets were recognized by 19 different organizations with awards.

JROTC recipient and their awards and grades are listed below:

Daniel Kim (Junior) (Air Force Association (AFA) Award)
Deborah Jeong (Junior) (Order of Daedalians Award)
Jessi Lee (Junior) (Order of Daedalians Award)
Grace Kim (Senior) (American Legion Scholastic Excellence Award – Gold Medal)
Clara Lee(Senior) (American Legion Scholastic Excellence Award – Gold Medal)
Rachel Bender (Senior) (American Legion Scholastic Excellence Award – Silver Medal) Su Min Choe (Senior) (American Legion Scholastic Excellence Award – Bronze Medal) Tristian Ganzon (Senior) (American Legion Scholastic Excellence Award – Bronze Medal) Jerry Jung (Senior) (American Legion Scholastic Excellence Award – Bronze Medal) Esther Yoon (Senior) (American Legion Scholastic Excellence Award – Bronze Medal) Frederick Stepanian (Senior) (American Legion Military Excellence Award – Gold Medal) Paul Cho (Senior) (American Legion Military Excellence Award – Silver Medal)

Daniel Park (Senior) (American Legion Military Excellence Award – Silver Medal) Christina Chung (Senior) (American Legion Military Excellence Award – Bronze Medal) Keilah Domenico (Senior) (American Legion Military Excellence Award – Bronze Medal) James Duquette (Senior) (American Legion Military Excellence Award – Bronze Medal) Chris Kim (Senior) (American Legion Military Excellence Award – Bronze Medal)
Ryan Kramer (Senior) (American Legion Military Excellence Award – Bronze Medal) Sam Mun (Senior) (American Legion Military Excellence Award – Bronze Medal)
Sam Park (Senior) (American Legion Military Excellence Award – Bronze Medal)
River Remey (Senior) (American Legion Military Excellence Award – Bronze Medal) Sammy Lee (Junior) (Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Award)
Yujin Song (Junior) (American Veterans (AMVETS) Award)
Philip Chung (Junior) (Reserve Officers Association of America (ROA) Award)
Sharon Sim (Sophomore) (Military Order of the World Wars (MOWW) Award)
Dylan Asprer (Junior) (Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) Award)
Jacob Choi (Junior) (Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Award)

Samantha Choi (Junior) (National Sojourners Award)
Daniel Cho (Junior) (Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) Award)
Carol Sheem (Sophomore) (Scottish Rite of Freemasonry Award)
Rebecca Park (Sophomore) (Air Force Sergeants Association (AFSA) Award)
Angela Cha (Sophomore) (Daughters of the Union Veterans of the Civil War (DUVCW) Award David Millhouse (Junior) (Sons of the Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW) Award) Jayden Hwang (Junior) (TREA: The Enlisted Association) (TREA)
Rebecca Kim (Junior) (TREA: The Enlisted Association) (TREA)
Chris Lopez (Junior) (The Non-Commissioned Officer Association) (NCOA)
Debbie Ryu (Sophomore) (The Non-Commissioned Officer Association) (NCOA)
Bonnie Kim (Junior) (Tuskegee Airmen Award)
Terry Kim (Junior) (Tuskegee Airmen Award)
Jamie Yoon (Junior) (Tuskegee Airmen Award)
Jiyoun Roe (Freshman) (National Society United States Daughters of 1812 Award)

Daniel Kim was recognized by Headquarters AFJROTC as the recipient of the Distinguished Cadet of the Year Award; Deborah Jeong (Senior), Grace Kim (Senior), Clara Lee (Senior), Jessi Lee (Senior), Frederick Stepanian (Senior), Daniel Kim (Junior), Sharon Sim (Sophomore), and Jiyoun Roe (Freshman) were also recognized as recipients of the Outstanding Cadet Award for their respective year groups. Additionally, Sharon Sim (Sophomore) was the recipient of the Headquarters AFJROTC Top Performer Award.

  Charly Shelton, Mary Okeefe