Ninety one year old Ralph Scholl served in World War II as an air traffic controller
Editor’s Note: SNO photojournalist Leonard Andrenacci caught up with two area veterans today. They may be exactly fifty years apart in age but their patriotism –and the debt of gratitude they’re owed by this nation — is timeless.
OAKHURST — The Mountain Area community observed Veteran’s Day Monday at ceremonies scheduled to take place at a number of local venues.
Flags were on full display at Oakhill Cemetary in Oakhurst while visitors to Yosemite National Park received free admission in honor of U.S. veterans.
At the Cool Bean Cafe Monday morning, Ralph Scholl, 91, a Navy veteran from Oakhurst who served as an air traffic control operator during the Second World War, was sipping coffee.
A regular customer at the Cool Bean, Ralph always has time to tell a story about his time in the service.
One of the few World War II veterans still around, Ralph claims that he didn’t “do much” and that others “did much more” — but that’s common among most vets, regardless of branch of military or arena served.
Oakhurst’s Jeremiah McLoughlin, 41, earned a Purple Heart after being wounded by an IED in Iraq
Army veteran Jeremiah McLoughlin, 41, also from Oakhurst, served his country in Iraq, where he earned a Purple Heart after being wounded by an IED near the Baghdad Airport in 2003.
McLoughlin worked as an MP during his deployment in Iraq and served a total of 23 years in the military.
He now works for an area tree service company.
*Sierra News Online would like to express its gratitude to all veterans on this day of remembrance.
