On Feb. 14, Mission Bay Coast Guard JROTC had 13 cadets participate in cleaning up the school’s Vietnam Memorial at the entrance of the school. The group filled three bags of debris: branches, weeds, and leaves while cleaning the monument of the six Vietnam casualties from MBHS grads, the auditorium window, and draining the stagnant water from the corner waterfall. The safety officer and lead project planning cadet, Faith Harford-Pinuelas’ grandmother was in the MBHS Class of ’58 and was classmates with one of the soldiers. This clean-up was part of the group’s bi-monthly community service goals.

The cadets still have some work to do on mowing grass, replanting, and getting the fountain to work again. The memorial needed a little tender love and care. It last had maintenance in 2008, when the Class of ’58 had its 50th reunion and those graduates rededicated the memorial.

“I learned a lot from Rita Price (class of ’68) and Bill Swank (class of ’58) who did a lot to redo the memorial. And how at that time, MBHS had a USMC JROTC unit then,” said Mission Bay Coast Guard JROTC Lt. Commander John Bannon, USCG (ret).

“It’s a neat connection for me. Growing up in the area, I got to know a few other surfing graduates of that period, such as Skip Frye (Class of ’59), Larry Gordon, and Floyd Smith (Class of ’58) of the famous San Diego surfboard manufacturers, Gordon and Smith,” Bannon said. “Growing up and living in Bird Rock on the edge of North PB, throughout my life and Coast Guard career, I had friends who went both to La Jolla and Mission Bay. Older surfers, Vietnam veterans, and MBHS grads were part of my life. Great to give back to the community I call home.”