Cardenas flew bombers like this during WWII.

Bob Cardenas

Fighter Pilot

Community Leader

Cardenas: Born in Mexico, He Became an American Hero

Born in 1920 in Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico, Robert Cardenas and his family moved to San Diego when he was 5 years old. Excelling in math and physics in high school, he attended San Diego State University, then in 1939 enlisted in the California National Guard. In 1940, he was designated an aviation cadet, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Corp in July 1941.

In 1944, Captain Cardenas was on his 20th bombing mission over Germany when his aircraft was hit and he sustained a head injury. Bailing out of the crippled plane, he landed on the [Continue Reading]

Brig. Gen. Robert L. Cardenas, USAF

American Hero

Fighter Pilot

Community Leader

Aviation Legend Brig. Gen. Robert L. Cardenas Dies at 102

Air Force combat leader, bomber and fighter pilot, was key figure in securing federal approval for Miramar National Cemetery

By Bill Heard, Public Information Officer

(March 14, 2022) A legendary figure among the nation’s military aviators, and a leader in the San Diego veterans’ community—retired Air Force Brigadier General Robert L. Cardenas—died on his 102nd birthday, March 10, 2022, while hospitalized at Sharp Memorial Hospital.

Cardenas is survived by his wife of 74 years, Gladys, his sons Michael and Mark, and his daughters Robin, Debra, and Maria. Services and burial at Miramar National Cemetery are pending.

Members of the Miramar National Cemetery Support [Continue Reading]

9/11 Heroes Honored In Veterans Day 2021 Video Program

Speakers include Navy Officer Who Survived Pentagon Attack; SDFD Fire Chief Who Led Search/Rescue Team at Twin Towers

(Nov. 5, 2021) If then-Navy Lt. Christopher Ludmer of San Diego had been in his usual office at the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001, he would have been in the exact spot where American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the west wall of the Pentagon.

Assistant Fire Chief John Wood led a San Diego Fire Department Fire-Rescue Team that spent two weeks on the Twin Towers rubble pile helping local first responders in their search, rescue, and victim recovery effort.

Principal Speakers: Christopher Ludmer, John Wood

Ludmer and Wood are the principal speakers in an [Continue Reading]

An Army honor guard conducts a flag-folding ceremony during the committal service for former Army Lt. George Key.

Two Notable WWII Veterans Now at Rest at Miramar National Cemetery

Fought in Key Battles in the Pacific and in Europe

(Sept. 27, 2021) Two World War II veterans with remarkable backgrounds—a Marine officer who fought on Iwo Jima, and an Army officer with an historic ancestor—were buried in September at Miramar National Cemetery, and now lie at rest among their fellow veterans.

Retired Marine Colonel Dave E. Severance, 102, was buried at Miramar on Sept. 15. As a young captain, he was in command of Company E, 2nd Battalion, 28th Marine Regiment on Feb. 23, 1945, when he ordered five of [Continue Reading]

Ex-POWs, from left, Jim Kell, Tom Crosby, and Larry Strickland. USS Pueblo crewmen Kell and Strickland were held in North Korea after their ship was captured. Crosby was eight years old when he and his family were interned in a Philippines prison camp by the Japanese.

American Ex-POWs Remember the Hardships of Captivity  

10th Anniversary of POW Monument at Miramar National Cemetery

(Sept. 9, 2021) It was only a small group of ex-prisoners of war who were left to attend the 10th anniversary of the POW monument at Miramar National Cemetery. The black POW flag, flying above the statue of a gaunt prisoner emerging from barbed wire confinement, waved gently in a warm breeze. 

Some 20 family members and friends were [Continue Reading]

Bob Baker, San Diego Businessman, Veteran, Patriot, and Philanthropist Died Sept. 5

(Sept. 8, 2021) Bob Baker, well-known San Diego businessman, veteran, patriot and philanthropist—and major benefactor of the Support Foundation—died Sunday at his home in Rancho Santa Fe. He would have been 90 years old on October 1.

An Army veteran of the Korean War, Baker fought with the 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division at the crucial Battle of Outpost Harry in June 1953. The outpost was a strategic position on a tiny hilltop on the direct route to the South Korean capital of Seoul, some 60 miles south.

The embattled troops were told to “hold at all costs.” They endured repeated attacks and hand-to-hand fighting with Chinese troops [Continue Reading]

Captain (SEAL) Todd Perry said the monument “is primarily dedicated to our active duty teammates killed in action or training.”

UDT/SEAL Monument Dedicated at Miramar National Cemetery

(Click here for KFMB, Ch. 8, report by Reporter Steve Fiorina.)

(27 August 2021) Navy Special Operations veterans and guests gathered at Miramar National Cemetery, today, to dedicate a first-in-the nation monument to the men and women who sacrificed their lives in service to their country as members of UDT/SEAL teams and support units.

Featured speaker Captain (SEAL) Todd Perry, commanding officer of the Center for SEAL and Special Warfare Combatant Craft Crew units, paid tribute to those killed and wounded on battlefields and during special operations, to the SEAL veterans, as well as to [Continue Reading]

Pearl Harbor Survivor Stu Hedley Dies at Age 99

Told the story of WWII attack to thousands over the years

(6 Aug. 2021) Stu Hedley, who survived the sinking of the USS West Virginia (BB-48) during the 7 December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, died 4 August 2021 at age 99. He was a victim of COVID 19.

Over the years, Hedley estimated he told the story of the “Day of Infamy” to more than 200,000 people—many of them school children. In May, he estimated that fewer than 100 Pearl Harbor survivors were still alive. 

The death toll from the Japanese Imperial Navy attack on the Pacific island naval base and other military facilities reached 2,403. Navy personnel accounted for [Continue Reading]