Veterans Tell Amazing Stories

Veterans Tell Their AMAZING STORIES ercy welcomed six war veterans to campus last spring. These decorated veterans served our country in WWII, the Korean Conflict and Vietnam. The girls were mesmerized by their stories of self-sacrifice and patriotism. Most of these veterans were either underage or barely 18 when they began to serve our country. Here is a glimpse of what they shared with our students. M

Jack McCloskey, a marine veteran, was interviewed by Aisling Horgan ’17 for an oral history assignment for her US History class. Aisling found Mr. McCloskey to be quite a remarkable character. He was a Sergeant in the 1st Marines, had an extraordinary career as a firefighter in San Francisco, and is a leader in the Bay Area Catholic community. He is an alumnus of Riordan High School and is known to be a storyteller extraordinaire. In fact, this year he opened the St. Patrick’s Day luncheon in San Francisco and gave the invocation and other prayers in Gaelic, or Irish, as the Irish would say.

Lt. Col. John Stevens, U.S. Marines, was at Pearl Harbor when the planes flew overhead. He fought throughout WWII, and also went back and fought in Korea. He is the 2nd VP of the Korean War Memorial Foundation (KWMF). The KWMF had the Ribbon Cutting of a Korean War Memorial at the Presidio of San Francisco in 2016. The KWMF is now embarked on a mission to educate the public about the Forgotten War. The San Francisco Unified School District has just approved incorporating curriculum about the Korean War into their syllabi.

Chief Johnny JonGordon spoke about WWII and the battles fought in the Pacific, the Leyte Operations and Luzon Attacks in December 1944. Chief Johnny JonGordon was 19 when he served aboard the USS San Francisco in the battle of Guadalcanal — and recounted a night of calamity, death and fire. He explained to the girls that the Battle of Guadalcanal was a major turning point of World

War II as it prevented the possible loss of Henderson field, and thus saved Australia from the planned invasion. This marked the beginning of victory in the Pacific for the United States. Chief JonGordon is the Founder of the USS San Francisco Memorial Foundation, which was established in 1996 and has a monument out at Lands End commemorating the USS San Francisco and its men.

Doc Barker, joined the Navy as a Medic and was commissioned over to the Marines during the Korean Conflict. As a Navy medic, he spoke to the girls about the challenges of medical triage and saving lives during enemy fighting. He spoke of the Battle of the Punchbowl, one of the last battles of the movement phase of the Korean War, and the strategies used by the Marines.

Mike Belmiesseri was a tanker in Vietnam. He was barely 18 when he signed up and he spoke to the girls about the challenges of fighting in a conflict that people didn’t understand and how hard it was for those returning Vets. He explained that without the help of the US, communism would have overrun the country and that the world might be a much different place and that the United States did what it had to do to keep us all safe.

The Great Hall was silent as each veteran told their story; following the last speaker, the veteran’s received a standing ovation from Mercy students, faculty and staff. As they were leaving, girls lined up to shake hands with the Vets and said “Thank You for your Service” and for keeping America safe.