Two years ago, when we held a ceremony to honor World War II veterans who were still living in Carlsbad, we had a dozen participants who had served in the military during this period. Not every single World War II veteran was able to make it for the ceremony itself, but most of them were.
This year, by our account, we only have two World War II veterans still with us in Carlsbad, and we don’t believe either of them will be able to make our Fourth of July ceremony this year. We are however, honored to have several veterans of the Korean War era who will be joining us, as well as a very large group of veterans from the Vietnam War.
One of our World War II veterans still with us is Bill Fuson. Bill enlisted in the U.S. Army at age 19 and served in the Phillippines. Bill came home from the war and married Arlene Janway. They had four children and Bill worked for PCA as a welder. He was also a deacon at Cavern Baptist Church. Bill is also my uncle, and I’ve enjoyed visiting with him and talking about both the war and his many outstanding experiences in life. Another World War II veteran, Calvin Crow, is still a regular at the Alejandro Ruiz Senior Center in Carlsbad. We thank these amazing men, both for their service, and for their many years of being members of our community after returning from the war.
We are especially honored that this year’s ceremony will include many of our community’s Vietnam War vets. In many instances, these men did not receive proper acknowledgment for their sacrifice and service when they returned home from their war. We are honored to be able to assist with that acknowledgment.
We hope you’ll participate in this ceremony, which is set for 10 a.m. July 4 in the Cavern Theatre downtown.
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Did you know that Elvis Presley performed in Carlsbad twice? According to online records, Elvis performed at 4 p.m. on Feb. 11, 1955 at the Carlsbad Sports Arena, he then performed the next night, Feb. 12, at the Legion Hut at 9 pm. He also reportedly had performances in Hobbs and Roswell during that same 1955 trip.
That’s one of the reasons why we’re excited about having a modern day “Elvis” (a.k.a. Michael O’Connor), as well as a modern day “Patsy Cline” participating in our Fourth of July Ceremonies this year. We’ hope you’ll come out to the Carlsbad beach area to hear what Elvis and Patsy have to offer.
Sincerely,
Carlsbad Mayor Dale Janway