A true Tehachapi hero and man of God.

World War II experience

Cecil joined the Navy in 1942 and served aboard the USS Solace for 27 months. The USS Solace was a medical ship that evacuated thousands of wounded soldiers and Marines from the bloodiest battles of the Pacific. Cecil was a medical corpsman and worked in the orthopedic operating room as an operating room technician. The ship could hold up to 600 patients mostly from Guam, Saipan and Iwo Jima.

Korean War experience

After World War II, Cecil was working for the railroad when he was called by the Navy for service in the Korean War. He was based out of Japan for 2 years and went back and forth to Korea. This time he worked in surgical tents.

One thing that Cecil took away from both wars was the following quote:

“My job was to preserve life and not take it away”.