Honoring Cdr. James Bauder will be highlight of Memorial Day event at Two Strike Park.

By Charly SHELTON

Memorial Day is Monday, May 28 and, in honor of the day, the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1614 and the American Legion Post 288 come together annually to hold a joint memorial event, open to the public, to remind everyone what the day is really about.

“We have tremendous public support in the community for our military, especially the guys who have been around with the American Legion and VFW for so many years. Our Post has done a lot for the community – raising funds, supporting the ROTC, the Boy Scouts, Prom Plus – and the list goes on,” said Dave Worley, lieutenant colonel, U.S. Air Force, retired, of American Legion Post 288. “Irrespective of that, it’s always important that the public never forgets that freedom is not free and [we remember] the individuals who paid the ultimate price so that we can have the freedoms we have today. It cuts to the very core of our basic fundamental freedoms as a country. Memorial Day is a very important event and we want the public to know it’s more than just an opportunity for a three-day holiday from work. That’s what it’s all about.”

This year’s event will be held at 8 a.m. on Monday, May 28 at the Two Strike Park War Memorial. It will feature a combined color guard of the Legion and VFW, and includes memorial flag folding, a Missing In Action/Prisoner Of War table ceremony, and a keynote address by Ralph Peter Scaffdi, captain, U.S. Navy, reserve-retired. Scaffidi will speak about Memorial Day in general and, specifically, about Lt. Cdr. James Bauder, the honoree of the event.

“What we try to do every year, if possible, is to honor one specific individual. There’s a variety of reasons why we do that,” Worley said. “As you know, in past years we were finally able to get the rebuild of the Memorial Wall done at Two Strike Park and, of course, on that wall is a plaque with names of individuals who have fallen who are local residents in La Cañada-Flintridge, Montrose and La Crescenta.”

This year’s honoree has only recently come home. La Cañada resident Lt. Cdr. Bauder was reported MIA on Sept. 21, 1966. Bauder, along with wingman Lt. JG James B. Mills, was sent on a nighttime armed reconnaissance mission over northeastern Nghe An and southeastern Thanh Hoa provinces of Vietnam, from Cua Can to Thach Luyen along a river adjacent to Highway 1A. The two were supposed to drop flares and bomb where needed and to remain in contact with their support plane. Their F-4B Phantom plane dropped off of radar and couldn’t be reached by radio after takeoff and, despite no reports of missiles or anti-aircraft fire along their route, the two planes disappeared. They were both officially listed as MIA because the crash site wasn’t found. That is until October of last year.

The wreckage was found underwater and the body of Lt. Cdr. Bauder was finally repatriated back to America. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. He will be honored at the Memorial Day event and a flag, which was flown over the Capitol in Washington, D.C. in his honor, will be ceremonially folded and delivered to his family.

“It’s a labor of love for veterans. Memorial Day is a very special day for all of us. Veterans’ Day is kind of a separate animal, but Memorial Day is where we honor our fallen comrades, those who gave their lives for the defense and freedoms of this great country,” Worley said. “So those are the people that we are honoring on Memorial Day. We are very passionate about it and it’s a joint effort that is our pleasure to do each year.”

  Charly Shelton