Camp Hamilton Veterans Memorial Park

Leon Llewellyn was a Navy recruiter in the 1970s in Bakersfield. He was affectionately called Lee-lee by his friends. Leon served in Vietnam and Diego Garcia, where he worked as a Seebee extending the air strip on the atoll so that it could land B-52s. On of MGySgt (Ret) Glenn Denton’s favorite stories about Leon as a camp out at Camp Hamilton. The night started with a large group and a keg of beer, but the rain caused all but two men to leave. As daylight arrived, Leon and Glenn did not want to leave. With their trucks parked side by side and ponchos as cover, the two men played cards for the rest of the day. Just as Leon finished his Navy enlistment, the Seabee decided to join the Marine Corps as a commissioned officer, which required Leon to earn his last credits through CSU Bakersfield. His study group included students in Porterville. On Labor Day weekend in 1979, he went to Porterville to study group. As his way back, a truck lost it brakes at Hwy 65 and Famoso. According to Glenn, Leon was such a happy

 SPC Pierce was known as Kevin to his family and Ivan to his friends. Kevin was given the name Ivan by Charlie Duncan, another member of Camp Hamilton. Ivan was often called Charlie Duncan’s son. After serving in the Special Forces, Ivan and his friends would visit Camp Hamilton. Looking around the camp, Ivan picked out the spot for his tree - close to the bar and the bathroom so that he would always be near the people he cared about, all of whom frequented those two areas. When he was in the Army, Ivan was deployed to Honduras in Central America and later Somalia for when Black Hawk went down as part of the rescue team. Ivan also went to Bosnia. The deployment that stood out the most was in northern Iraq with the Kurds. He enjoyed his time with the Kurds, who he thought were great people, evening volunteering to return multiple times. Sadly, while Ivan was stationed in northern Iraq, he caught a disease from which he never recovered. He passed away at an early age.

 Hal Cowan was a World War II Marine and a friend of Camp Hamilton. He came out to the camp almost everyday to do projects. He originally landed on Guadalcanal in World War II and fought through the South Pacific and Okinawa. He entered China at the end of World War II. When Imperial Japan surrendered on September 2, 1945, Hal Cowan was part of the Marine Corps color guard  on the USS Missouri. 

Chief Hospital Corpsman Lon Chaney was an educator and a historian. In fact, he was the Camp Hamilton Veterans Memorial Park historian until he passed away on May 23, 2017. In the past few months, we had heard stories about veterans by the people who knew them. Today we will listen to the veteran's own words with an audio tape letter sent to the veteran's wife in 1969. At the time, HM1 Lon Chaney was stationed on the Naval Hospital Ship USS Repose AH-16 in Vietnam. He was assigned as the Leading Petty Officer in the Operating Room. This edited audio tape starts on Monday, October 27 and ends on Saturday, November 1, 1969.

Don Taylor, our resident bagpiper, tells this story of SSgt Fidel Hernandez, a Marine who served in World War II. Glenn Denton then adds to the story. During World War II, the military listed Fidel's brother as missing in action. With his father's blessing, Fidel joined the Marine Corps find his brother in the Pacific Theater. While on the Island of Pavuvu in the Solomon Islands, Fidel noticed a bush growing with small peppers on them. Knowing Marine Corps rations, Fidel picked a few peppers and put them in his pocket. Three good things happened from Fidel's deployment: 1) Fidel came home with no injuries, 2) his brother was found in an Oakland Naval Hospital in California, and 3) decades after he came home, Fidel found those pepper seeds and planted them at his home in San Diego. Fidel's daughter attended San Diego State University. No one had ever seen a Pavuvu bush, so she took it to the biology department who created a classification using Fidel Hernandez's name.

The stories about Vernon Valenzuela from Kern County veterans could fill a book. Vernon Valenzuela served in the Army during Vietnam. He had a tough tour and because of the people he knew and lost, Vernon became heavily involved in veteran's issues, especially Post Traumatic Stress. Vernon was the one who brought the Federal Veteran's Outreach Office to Bakersfield on Golden State Avenue. He passed away at a young age in 2012. Glenn Denton and so many others, including this podcast interviewer, appreciate everything that Vernon did. My husband, who has severe PTSD, could not handle the emotion and crowds at Vernon's funeral. We arrived just as his family was leaving the Bakersfield National Cemetery. As he stood over Vernon's open grave. my husband placed his EOD badge on the casket and gave a tearful goodbye. Vernon Valenzuela's legacy lives on at the hearts of the veterans and families he guided.

Camp Hamilton is named after Leonard Hamilton. Leonard was an "Old China" Marine before World War II. He landed in Shanghai, China in 1936 with the 4th Marine Regiment until war broke out and then fought with the 1st Marine Division. When the war was over, Leonard got discharged. As he was getting processed at Treasure Island in San Francisco, he met a Navy Yeoman named Betsy who eventually agreed to marry him. Leonard Hamilton became a county sheriff above San Francisco. He joined the Marine Corps Reserve to make some extra money and convinced his brother Rodney to join since "the war is over. Nothing is going to happen." 6 months later, the brothers were activated for Korea and served with the 1st Marine Division. The Hamilton family lived in Bakersfield and would come out to the camp.

Leland Crawford was the 9th Sgt Major of the Marine Corps. He served from 1951 to 1983. MGySgt Denton and Sgt Major Crawford were re-acquainted at Camp Pendelton in the 1980s. The two men got involved with the 1st Marine Division Association. At one time, the retired Crawford ordered Denton and two of his buddies to go to Arroyo Grande to the Tar Springs Ranch for the Bodfish Chapter of the 1st Marine Division. This trip changed their lives. It was hallelujah to the Marine Corps. Leland Crawford came out to Camp Hamilton, which became a headquarters for the Bodfish Chapter. Crawford died on his 65th birthday. Glenn Denton flew home from Saudi Arabia to attend the funeral in San Diego. At that time, the Camp Hamilton bar was renamed "The Crow Bar" and a tree was planted next to it. Leland Crawford was a great Marine, man and friend.

Chief Arend "Tack" Tanis retired from the United States Navy. MGySgt Glenn Denton met him in the 1970s. Tack and his wife Toni owned a little pub next to Central Park in Bakersfield that the hangout for active duty military in town.

Arthur D. Denton was a Marine in Vietnam. He was Glenn Denton Jr.'s little brother. The military would not send Arthur to Vietnam while Glenn was deployed. The two brothers switched places though Glenn was in the infantry and Arthur was in the air wing. Arthur earned three air medals. He passed away at the young age of 43.

D. K. Feickert served in the U.S. Marine Corps. He is one of two Feickerts in the Park by their brother Paul Feickert was very active in the Bodfish Chapter of the 1st Marine Division Association. When we first started the park, Paul helped out quite a bit. D.K.'s tree had a hard time existing on this hill. It was the first tree planted high on the hill and it survived because it was close to the water source. Harold Bartlett was the Marine Corps between World War I and World War II. His nickname was "The Swede." He was D.K. and G.J. Feickert's uncle, both of whom are honored at Camp Hamilton.

Captain Randolph A. Guzman was killed in the Oklahoma Bombing on April 19, 1995. He was on active duty working at the federal building wearing full dress blues when the building was blown up. As the firefighters and policemen carried Randy's body out of the building, the first responders did a military march. Two or three years later, a friend of Glenn's and Randy's family asked to dedicate a tree in his memory. When Randy's mother saw the coastal redwood and its bird nests, she knew that the tree was perfect for her son. His tree will be replaced and the original redwood will be made into a table or bench.

Joseph LaGrand Smithson had two Marine sons named Mike and Sid who were very active at Camp Hamilton and the 1st Marine Division. The eldest brother Mike recently passed away and his name will be added in the future. The tree dedications are only for veterans and trees can be not reserved; however, an exception was made for the father since both Mike and Sid's names would be eventually added.

Cheparnie Cox, who was from Oklahoma, served in the Army during World War I. He was born in 1897 and died in 1971. When the Bakersfield National Cemetery opened, his grandson had Cheparnie moved and the former gravestone placed behind Cheparnie's memorial. Cheparnie's daughter was named Sue Newton. She was born April 8, 1924, and died April 25, 2018, at the age of 94. "Mama Sue" was very active in the VFW Post 97 on South Union. She and her family would gather around Cheparanie's memorial on every Memorial Day and Veteran's Day. We are ready to add a memorial for Mama Sue.

Glenn E. Denton was MGySgt Glenn Denton Jr.'s father. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II. Denton Sr.'s tree memorial has been replanted and moved. He served in North Africa, Sicily, and France. The elder Denton would get a twinkle in his eye talking about France at the end of the war. He was a Bronze Star recipient. He died in a Veteran's Hospital in South Dakota in 1974. The original tree was planted in 1988.

Next to Bob and King the USMC Scout dog is a bush that we turned into a tree. The "tree" has purple blossoms. Its plaque reads "Dedicated to all veterans who shed blood for their country." MGySgt Glenn Denton and probably half of Camp Hamilton who served in combat earned Purple Hearts. In Glenn's 44-man platoon in 1969, every single Marine was wounded in a five-day period. 16 were killed.

Sgt Bob Davis served as a Marine Corps Dog Handler. After the military, Bob worked in Kern County for several years. He was a Commander of VFW Post 97 and later a District Commander for the VFW. Bob later became involved with Camp Hamilton and asked to dedicate a tree in his dog's memory. King 67XO was killed in action in June 1968 in Vietnam. Glenn and Bob decided on a fire hydrant for King. Bob later passed away and his tree was planted next to his dog as he requested. The Sheriff's Explorers take care of this veteran's memorial.

Billy B. Duncan served in the U.S. Army during World War II. His son, Charlie Duncan, who is a dear friend of the camp and Glenn, purchased 10 acres of land near the camp some 20 years after he dedicated the tree to his father. Charlie would bring his father out to Camp Hamilton to go dove hunting. At first, Billy was leary of the Camp Hamilton volunteers. He thought we might be radicals with our range and kept private. Then Billy came out a few times and told his son, "You guys are harmless." Billy's tree is a cross of a lemon and a grapefruit that has been moved from the middle of the driveway next to the tank. When the tank was moved, so was Mr. Duncan's tree.

Lt. F. Ross Doll was an Iwo Jima survivor. He lived to be a ripe old age and would come to Camp Hamilton for every function or just to sit in solitude under the trees. There are 4 Dolls in Camp Hamilton from three generations. Fred. C. Doll was Ross's father. Fred served in World War I in the 7th Batallion Engineers in the U.S. Army. He was very supportive of the military and combat veterans. The father's plaque was originally next to the Iwo Jima memorial, but when Ross died, we switched the plaques. John Thomas Doll served in the Army Air Corps with the 8th Air Force during World War II. Steven Doll's podcast will be added at a later time.

Lt. Christoph Ludwig Schneider was U.S. Army 1st Calvary Division. He was killed in action on November 5, 1951, in Korea. The Schneider family heard about Camp Hamilton and wanted to dedicate a tree to him. Here we are in 2018 and Korea is all over the news. It is a big deal that the Korean War might be over. What a time to acknowledge him.