‘A life of service.’ This Sacramento veteran served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam

At the far northern edge of Sacramento, there is a community of some of the nation’s oldest veterans. Their experience in war spans nearly 50 years, from the islands of the Pacific to the tense years leading up to the fall of the Soviet Union.

Their neighborhood, Heritage Park in North Natomas, is home to at least two World War II veterans, a few Korean War veterans and dozens of Vietnam and Cold War veterans.

One of the residents is Nathan Allen, Jr., 102, one of the oldest World War II veterans still living in the United States and among only a few who served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. As the nation commemorates Veterans Day, he is part of a shrinking generation: there are just 25,000 World War II veterans left in California and 240,000 nationwide.

A quiet man, Allen was drafted into the Army in 1944. He trained as a fireman and was initially sent to Germany, his daughter Nathalia Chevalier said.

“By the time we got our trucks unloaded, the war was over,” he said when asked about his service in 2016.

Allen was then transferred to the Pacific, where we served until the end of the war. When he was discharged in 1945, he returned to his job as a bakery delivery driver, but after three days he walked back to the recruiting office and reenlisted, his son-in-law, Paul Chevalier said.

He served as a staff sergeant during the Korean War where he became one of the first Black officers to lead white soldiers, serving three tours in Korea. He continued his service after the war ended, moving up the ranks to become a master sergeant and fire chief.

He later served in Vietnam along with his son-in-law.

“When an aircraft went down, he had to go in,” Paul Chevalier said.

Allen retired from the military after 27 years, finishing his military and fire service career in Anchorage, Alaska. He moved to Sacramento to be near his family.

“He had a life of service,” Nathalia Chevalier said of her father.

Also among this proud community is James Grimes, 95, who lied about his age in 1942 and enlisted in the Navy at the age of 16. His parents helped him fix his birth certificate so he could join before graduating high school, he said with a laugh.

“You can’t imagine how people volunteered to go into service back then,” he said in an interview with The Sacramento Bee. “Everyone wanted to go into service.”

Grimes was sent to the Pacific after completing basic training, where he spent much of his deployment in Hawaii. There, he trained in aircraft repair and worked as a radioman and aerial gunner. He later served aboard the USS Hornet, an aircraft carrier, during the invasion of the Philippines and saw seven months of combat, he said solemnly. He then worked in the Naval Transport Squadron in Guam, transporting wounded soldiers and sailors from bomber bases at Tinian and Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands.

Grimes left the Navy in 1948, but was recalled to duty in 1951 to serve in the Korean War.

“It was my duty,” Grimes said, his voice thick with emotion. “There was enjoyment in it and fear and danger, but we made it through. It gave me a worth of myself – the ability to endure and still come out smiling.”

Other Sacramento veterans share experiences

Grimes’ sentiment was echoed by several other veterans at Heritage Park.

Bob Hiltachk, a Cold War veteran, served in the Navy in the late 1950s and served in Vietnam before it became an official U.S. conflict. When he returned to the United States, it took decades before he was granted the same benefits as other veterans.

“It was like you were in the service but it didn’t count,” he said.

Nonetheless, Hiltachk said he was grateful for the experiences he had while in the Navy, saying he was exposed to things he never would’ve seen otherwise.

Vincent Farhood, an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, joined in 1966 and ended up serving a career term in the Army as a doctor and later as a surgeon. He was stationed in Japan, Germany, Texas and ended his military career at Travis Air Force Base. He later opened his own private practice.

Farhood said that while his time in the military and all the moving around was hard on his family, the experience was valuable.

“It was a good experience,” he said. “I learned to communicate with people because you weren’t working for referrals, you were there to treat people.”

Ron NaSal enlisted in the Navy during the heat of the Vietnam War because he wanted to follow in the footsteps of his father, who was a sailor during World War II. NaSal spent much of his service aboard a ship in the Mediterranean and North Atlantic Oceans tracking Russian submarines in an effort to keep vital shipping lanes open.

NaSal said that even after leaving the Navy in 1971, his service continued to influence his life.

“It left an impression,” he said. “I can exceed more than I think I can.”

Charles Paluda, Jr., also a resident of Heritage Park, volunteered for the Vietnam War and served three tours as a radar operator.

“I loved it,” Paluda said. “I thought it was the right thing. I was all for it, that’s why I volunteered.”

Stephen Werner also volunteered to serve in Vietnam in 1968 and worked as an aircraft mechanic for the Air Force. When he arrived in Bien Hoa outside Saigon, he was assigned as a crew chief and had to fix downed aircraft and return them to bases. He also spent time as a English teacher at an orphanage in Da Nang.

“It’s the best thing that happened to me,” he said. “I grew up.”

When Werner was transferred to Travis Air Force Base, he was told not to wear his uniform off base because he would likely be spat on, he said. For years after leaving the service, he said he hid his experience in Vietnam and didn’t talk about it.

“But things really changed after September 11,” he said. “That’s why I do so much for the club now and do whatever I can for the vets.”