On this Veterans Day, the Palisadian-Post salutes all who have served our country. Take a look at some of the Palisadian veterans the Post has recognized over the years.
Jim Cragg
Palisadian Jim Cragg is a former Special Operations soldier, paratrooper, U.S. Army Reserve officer, disabled vet and successful founder and CEO of defense contractor Special Operations Technologies, Inc. Cragg founded Green Vets Los Angeles in 2010, a non-profit vocational rehabilitation program for military veterans who are homeless or at-risk for homelessness. The veterans are trained and paid to sew silkscreen reusable items including teddy bears called “Challenge Bears.”
Rich Schmitt/Staff Photographer
George Mitchell
Palisadian George Mitchell was among nearly 100 CAP members present in Washington D.C. in December of 2014 to accept the Congressional Gold Medal on behalf of the Civil Air Patrol. It is the most distinguished honor a civilian can receive. Mitchell was a founding member of the CAP, which was created after the Dec. 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. Members of the organization volunteered their time, aircraft and personal resources in support of the war effort.
Courtesy of George Mitchell
Dr. Mike Martini
Palisadian Dr. Mike Martini is a 50-year member of the American Legion Post 283 and is a former commander and district level commander. Martini graduated from Loyola High School in 1942 near the dawn of World War II and started pre-medical school at UCLA. He got into the Navy program and was sent to Long Beach Naval Hospital where he spent six months as a corpsman before attending medical school in Saint Louis. Martini would go on to serve two years in the Korean War.
Rich Schmitt/Staff Photographer
Jonathan Chang
U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Jonathan Chang, who attended St. Matthew’s Parish School, completed Officer Candidates School in 2008, was commissioned as a second lieutenant and went on to become an artillery officer. He served in Marjah in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province in 2010. While there, he served in the 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine (2-6). Chang’s accolades include a Combat Action Ribbon, Afghan Campaign Medal and Navy Marine Corps Achievement Medal with Combat Distinguished Service.
Courtesy of Jonathan Chang (left)
John Sharer
Palisadian author John Sharer, a dual citizen holding both U.K. and U.S. citizenships, served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War and went on to graduate from UCLA Law School and practice law. In the writing of both of his novels, “Honor Knows No Borders” and “The Cockney Lad and Jim Crow,” Sharer said he drew on personal experiences.
Courtesy of Austin Roth, Ballantines PR
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