Renewed flames of patriotism burn bright against the dark night of Sept. 11.
The following Kenai Peninsula residents bore that torch into battle. Three came home. The price paid by the fourth keeps the flame alive for those that are left behind.
Bob Fulton of Nikiski remembers hearing about the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor "just like it happened yesterday."
"It made a tremendous impression," he said. "The feeling then was just like it was after Sept. 11. It brought the nation together. Everyone was wearing red, white and blue."
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There will be a Veterans Day ceremony at 11 a.m. today (November 11th, 2001) at Leif Hansen Memorial Park in Kenai. Veterans of Foreign Wars will host the ceremony. The Elmendorf 3rd Wing is scheduled to perform a fly-over in the missing-man formation in tribute to those fallen in battle. Kenai National Guard will render the rifle salute. Tim Wisniewski and his son will play Taps.Open houses at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 10046 in Soldotna, American Legion Post 20 in Kenai and AMVETS Post 4 in Soldotna will follow the ceremony.
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Three years later, Fulton, then 18, was drafted into the U.S. Army and trained to become a tank crewman.
"They shipped us to Japan and then we came home in Dec. 1945," he said. After that, Fulton enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and returned to the Pacific for another three years.
Having never engaged in combat during World War II, Fulton considers himself "one of the lucky ones." His haunting memories are of the poor living conditions he witnessed and the young children that begged for food.
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Bob Fulton and his brother Tom are pictured shortly before Bob went to Europe.
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"They would beg for the scraps we didn't eat," he said. "At first I didn't pay much attention to it, but I kept getting hit by the same kids. If I dumped my scraps into another kid's can, they'd get into a fight over it. If that kid went outside his group to get scraps, he was subject to be beat on."
Fulton also is keenly aware that inalienable rights come at a tremendous cost.
"Our young soldiers today are asked to pay the supreme price under conditions that are way different than uniformed troops have ever faced," he said.
In October, Fulton and his wife, Willa, flew to Chicago to see their grandson Roman's "very formal graduation ceremony" in the U.S. Navy. After additional training, Roman will earn a petty officer rating and be ready for an assignment on an aircraft carrier.
"He's done pretty good," a proud Fulton said of his grandson.
Fred Angleton of Soldotna is a veteran of the Korean conflict.
In 1951, he graduated from high school in Buena Park, Calif., and enlisted in the U.S. Navy. After being trained as a machinist mate, Angleton was assigned to the USS Hamner, a 390-foot destroyer. For four years, the Hamner carried Angleton between Japan, the Philippines and Korea.
The ship, which he called a "tin can," was in the second destroyer division to arrive in the Korean combat area. In 1952 and 1953, it completed two eight-month tours, its crew providing fire support for ground forces.
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'When we went in to fire our rounds, we could see the American planes dropping bombs. I couldn't say we were in danger. We got medals for what we did, but we just did our job.' -Fred Angleton of Soldotna, who served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean conflict
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"When we went in to fire our rounds, we could see the American planes dropping bombs," Angleton said. "I couldn't say we were in danger. We got medals for what we did, but we just did our job."
In between the two tours, the Hamner made a brief visit to San Diego.
"I remember the first thing I told my mom and dad when I saw them: 'I want to have a hamburger and milk shake,'" Angleton said. "They didn't serve those on that can."
Weather dictated shipboard menus.
"One time we went almost 10 days with only sandwiches because (the water) was so rough," he said. "We were in the water, out of the water, taking water in our second stack and waves were going over the top of the ship. It was pretty hairy."
Of Sept. 11, Angleton said, "It's terrible. I think that we might have dropped the ball. We might have been able to prevent what happened. From what I understand from the media, and you can't always believe what you hear, it could have been prevented."
The demands on today's military are no different than those expected of Angleton during the Korean conflict.
"You had a job to do," he said. "You had to make sure people were taken care of."
In 1966, Belbert "Buddy" Frazier of Ninilchik enlisted in the U.S. Navy.
Swimming skills acquired in a pond on Oil Well Road placed him fourth in a class of 157. Experience around fishing boats put him ahead of "a lot of farm boys." Hunting for moose proved beneficial on the firing range.
But nothing diminished the fear awaiting him after being assigned to Vietnam onboard the 306-foot USS Diachenko, an attack personnel destroyer.
"If you weren't a little bit afraid, you were an idiot," Frazier said.
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'I saw quite a bit of Vietnam before I was injured. And I'll never forget the smell - burning dead, dung and kerosene.' -Buddy Frazier of Ninilchik, who served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam war
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Sailing the Vietnamese coast, Frazier and his shipmates provided support to SEAL and underwater demolition teams and faced an unexpected enemy.
"We fought a group of people that averaged between 14- and 18-years of age," Frazier said. "These were war-hardened soldiers. We were ill-equipped to fight a war like that."
Five months after arriving in Vietnam, Frazier was wounded when a mooring line snapped and struck him while he was in the water. He spent eight months in hospitals in Taiwan, Japan and Bremerton, Wash.
"I saw quite a bit of Vietnam before I was injured," Frazier said. "And I'll never forget the smell -- burning dead, dung and kerosene."
His injuries still plague him. He has a disabling paralysis on his left side. Some days he's unable to walk. And he has begun displaying the symptoms of Parkinson's disease.
The Veterans Administration doesn't recognize his service as war-related, Frazier said, and the result is limited medical care and a paperwork nightmare.
"We fought (the Vietnam) war and then we came back to fight another war," he said, referring to others in similar situations.
Frazier's son, Ian, once considered enlisting in the military, but was prevented from serving because of an eye injury.
Would Frazier have been bothered by his son's enlistment?
"Of course I would have," he said. "It's a selfishness. We're concerned for the welfare of our loved ones. And it's an irony because we'll go to war to protect that."
In 1984, David Douthit, the son of Harvey and Nita Douthit, was one of the first graduates of Soldotna High School. After training as an auto mechanic, he found employment hard to come by and enlisted in the U.S. Army.
"It was a good thing for David," Nita said. "He found his niche. He was a good leader."
Douthit was serving his sixth year in the Army when, on Jan. 12, 1991, the United States Congress granted President George Bush the authority to wage war to end Iraq's occupation of Kuwait.
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'We were celebrating the cease-fire. Little did we know that he was already gone.' -Nita Douthit of her son, David, the only Alaskan killed during the Persian Gulf War
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On Feb. 27, Douthit was a gunner in a Bradley tank, one of several tanks on a scouting mission.
"His lieutenant had asked for him because he was a good gunner," Nita said.
A nearby tank burst into flames after being hit by enemy fire and the soldiers inside scrambled to safety. Douthit's lieutenant told Nita that her son said, "Let's go help those guys."
Douthit was killed while trying to help.
Hours later, President Bush declared Kuwait liberated and suspended all U.S. and allied force offensive operations. At midnight Eastern Standard Time on Feb. 28, a cease-fire took place.
"We were celebrating the cease-fire," Nita said. "Little did we know that he was already gone."
Douthit was the only Alaskan killed in the Persian Gulf War. At the time of his death, he was 24 years old. His wife, Jessy, was pregnant with their first child. Jessy is now remarried. Their daughter, Rebecca, is 10 years old.
"Our hearts go out to all those servicemen serving their country and to their families," Nita said. "If David were still here, that's exactly where he would want to be. As much as I wouldn't want to lose him, I know that's exactly where he would want to be."
Tributes to veterans can be found on pages 10-13 of today's Peninsula Clarion.
