Honoring those who served

Standing in front of a collage of old photos on a bulletin board at the Oasis Senior Center, Stan Troutman and Earl Yingling pointed at images of themselves in World War II military garb.

In the photos, Yingling, 86, was dressed in a Navy sailor’s uniform and Troutman was wearing an Army uniform.

“I was 23, and I was married and had a baby when I volunteered,” said Yingling, who repaired airplanes at the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Fla., during WWII.

Troutman, who arrived at the senior center in his old olive-green uniform, pointed at a photo of himself holding a camera. During the war, the Corona del Mar resident was a civilian war correspondent who used his camera to capture events like the battle of Saipan in the Pacific.

On Friday, both men were among a group of veterans honored at the center in observance of Veterans Day, Nov. 11.

The ceremony, which included the Color Guard from the American Legion Newport Harbor Post 291, was hosted by the Friends of Oasis, a nonprofit group that raises funds and sponsors activities at the senior center.

Ed Romeo, president of the group, posted more than 30 photos of veterans from all wars on the bulletin board. About a dozen from that number showed up at the ceremony.

June Ashton of Santa Ana and Toni Friedenberg of Newport Beach, both 84, were among those veterans who attended.

Women also contributed to the war effort on the home front, both women said.

Friedenberg joined the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) and worked in the Navy’s communications department.

Ashton was part of WAC (Women’s Army Corps) during the war. She worked in the motor pool, delivering vehicles or picking up soldiers and other military staff.

Ashton said she volunteered out of a sense of patriotism.

“It was the thing to do,” Ashton said. “All the girls I knew were volunteering.”

Louis Ballas, 88, who served in the U.S. Army Air Force, taught combat pilots how to fly at a base in Marana, Ariz.

On Veterans Day next Saturday, he hopes people remember those who served in the military in past wars and those serving now in Iraq and other parts of the Middle East.

“Our veterans really deserve a lot of credit,” said Ballas, of Newport Beach. “As a result of their sacrifice, we still have a free country.”