Anaheim High salutes Colonists veterans who witnessed the attack on Pearl Harbor today Dec. 7, 1941.
Junior Perkins – Class of 1941
Our own Anaheim High alumnus Junior Perkins, Class of 1941, was on the U.S.S. Navy Destroyer Shaw docked in the harbor at the very moment of the enemy attack. Perkins survived the attack without a scratch, though his best friend standing next to him wa
s killed. [Read more…]
The remains of Class of 1937 Colonist John F. Minogue, who had been listed as missing in action since 1943, were return home for burial after being identified in 2022. He was buried April 20, 2023, next to his mother, Pearl Thessie Minogue Miller, at Loma Vista Memorial Park in Fullerton.
On Aug. 1, 1943, 2nd Lt. John F. Minogue, age 24, was shot down over Romania. But for nearly 80 years, he was among the fallen troops who could not be identified at the time.
Born May 1, 1919, Minogue played football for Anaheim Union High School and attended Fullerton College after graduating from AUHS in 1937. A Gold Star Flag was displayed in the window of his home at 506 Claudina Street, where he had lived with his mother until moving to Richfield, CA, 550 miles north of Anaheim, sometime before enlisting in the Army Air Corp on May 20, 1941.
By the end of 1941, Minogue earned his Army wings of gold and was sent to Europe. In the summer of 1943, he was assigned to the 328th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 93rd Bombardment Group (Heavy), 9th Army Air Force.
On Aug. 1, 1943, the B-24 Liberator bomber named “Euroclydon The Storm,” on which Minogue was co-pilot, was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire and crashed during Operation Tidal Wave, the largest bombing mission against the oil fields and refineries at Ploiesti, north of Bucharest, Romania.
Piloted by Lt. Enoch Porter, “Euroclydon The Storm” was part of the first wave of the mission and was positioned as lead aircraft left wing. The bomber took a direct hit and was seen attempting to climb to 300 feet. The plane broke in midair before crashing in flames over a school at Plopu. Of the 11 crewmembers, three were taken POW, the bombardier bailed out but his parachute failed to open, and it is believed that two gunners also jumped with failing chutes. Five bodies were never recovered, and only two crew were initially identified.
More than 500 airmen died in this mission, and 54 planes were lost. All of the 93rd Bombardment Group earned the Presidential Unit Citation. Minogue was awarded, posthumously, the Distinguished Flying Cross for his role. He was also awarded an Air Medal and Purple Heart.
Minogue’s remains were buried as “unknown” in the Hero Section of the Civilian and Military Cemetery of Bolovan in Romania.
Following the war, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC), the organization that searched for and recovered fallen American personnel, disinterred all American remains from the Bolovan Cemetery for identification. The AGRC was unable to identify more than 80 unknowns and those remains were permanently interred at Ardennes American Cemetery and Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, both in Belgium.
In 2017, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) began exhuming the remains of those believed to have died in Tidal Wave in an effort to identify them and, in August 2022, Minogue was announced as successfully named.
Minogue’s name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at the Florence American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Impruneta, Italy, along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Euroclydon The Storm Crew
1Lt Enoch M. Porter Jr. – Pilot
2Lt. John F Minogue – Co-Pilot
Raymond P. Warner – Navigator
1Lt Howard Dickson
Fl. Of. Joe E. Boswell
1st/Lt. Jesse D “Red” Franks, Jr
T/Sgt.Frank C Ferrel
TSgt Bernard R Lucas
SSgt Earl L. Frost
Class of 1950 Colonist Harry Edman Sexton, a retired U.S. Marine Corp Colonel, passed away Feb. 15, 2023, at age 90.
Born in Anaheim on Dec. 20, 1932, Sexton was an active AUHS student. He was a varsity yell leader, played football, and served as secretary of the Future “A” Club.
He enlisted in the U.S. Marine two years after graduating from Anaheim, and married Ann Goodrich in 1958. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps for 26 years, from August 1952 to January 1978.
A man of integrity and character, Colonel Sexton flew more than 400 combat missions during two tours of Vietnam. During his first tour, he commanded the only Marine F-8 Crusader Fighter Squadron to deploy from Navy Carrier USS Oriskany.
On his second tour, he commanded a squadron of HMLA-367 “Scarface” Cobra Helicopters, providing offensive air support, utility support and armed escort and airborne support, day or night, under all weather conditions, to Marine ground combat units.
Col. Sexton was awarded the Navy Cross, our country’s second-highest award for bravery, for heroism during Operation Tailwind as he and his fellow “Scarface” Cobra Gunships engaged the enemy to provide cover for the extraction of a nearly overwhelmed force of U.S. Army Special Operators out of Laos. Click here to read more about his mission.
He was also awarded two Legion of Merits with Combat “V”, a Distinguished Flying Cross, and 44 Air Medals/Strike Flight Awards, and was inducted into the Golden Eagles for his distinguished career as an aviator. More on his career can be read here.
His adventures continued after retiring from the military at age 45 when he turned his attention from flying the skies to riding the roads on a Harley Davidson.
His wife, Ann, son, Harry Jr., and daughter Stacie will remember him as a husband and father who lived for others, giving freely of his time, skill, and love to all who were fortunate enough to have known him. He is also survived by four grandchildren; and a great grandson.
Anaheim High School veterans are asked to print and fill out this form and email to anaheimalumni@yahoo.com to be a part of the AHSAA Veterans Project. Thank you for your service!
George Tallman attended Anaheim High as a sophomore and part of his junior year. Had he graduated, he would be Class of 1963. Graduate or not, George is a Colonist Fallen Hero and AHS alumnus.
His brother, Bill, provided information and photo of Geroge, who died in Vietnam on April 9, 1967.
Buried in Huntington Beach
AHS Class of ’76 graduate Congressman Lou Correa honored and celebrated Vietnam War-period veterans, as well as several Anaheim High Gold Star Families, at a pinning ceremony presented March 29 on the Colonist Campus The commemorative event included presentations of a Service Lapel Pins and other tributes to publicly thank and honor Vietnam veterans and their families on behalf of the nation. The event was supported by the AHSAA, ASB, Band, and other volunteers.
The Frick sisters lost their brother 52 years ago, but still love and cherish the memories of their fresh-faced sibling who went off to the Vietnam War on March 10, 1967. Their 20-year-old brother lost his life less than two months later in the Dinh Tuong Province of South Vietnam.
The sisters of Private First Class John Alan Frick, Mary Schilling, Laura Puialoa and Kathy Ward returned on Friday, March 29, 2019, to Anaheim High, where their brother graduated in 1965, to received a Gold Star Lapel Pin as part of a U.S. Department of Defense Vietnam Commemorative program conducted by Congressman Lou Correa, an AHS Class of 1976 graduate who represents California’s 46th District of Anaheim, Garden Grove, Orange and Santa Ana. The event was supported by the school’s Alumni Association, the campus NJOTC program, the ASB 
Associated Student Body, Band, and other campus volunteers.
Other AHS K.I.A. families were also honored. More photos from the event may be seen here.
Additional information and photos of John Frick are available below:
John Alan FrickPrivate First Class John Alan Frick – AHS Class of 1965
A CO, 3RD BN, 47TH INFANTRY, 9TH INF DIV, USARV
Army of the United States
Anaheim, California
December 14, 1946 to May 02, 1967
Private First Class
PERSONAL DATA
Home of Record: Anaheim, CA
Date of birth: 12/14/1946
MILITARY DATA
Service: Army of the United States
Grade at loss: E3
Rank: Private First Class
ID No: 56686138
MOS: 11B10: Infantryman
Length Service: 00
Unit: A CO, 3RD BN, 47TH INFANTRY, 9TH INF DIV, USARV
CASUALTY DATA
Start Tour: 03/10/1967
Incident Date: 05/02/1967
Casualty Date: 05/02/1967
Age at Loss: 20
Location: Dinh Tuong Province, South Vietnam
Remains: Body recovered
Casualty Type: Hostile, died outright
Casualty Reason: Ground casualty
Casualty Detail: Gun or small arms fire
Michael McCommons’ name is inscribed on Line 36, of Wall Panel 13 East, on a black granite wall with the names of more than 58,000 men and women who gave their lives or remain missing in Vietnam.
Michael’s son, Glen Mulock, was 16 years old when the Vietnam War Memorial, dubbed “The Wall That Heals,” was dedicated in Washington D.C. on Nov. 13, 1982.
Born Oct. 6, 1966, Glen was put up for adoption after Michael was killed in Vietnam on Dec. 11, 1966. He grew up knowing his father was a soldier who gave his life for his country. Inspired by his father’s service, Glen joined the Marine Corps at age 17. Before going off to boot camp, he met the McCommons family, some of whom were unaware of his existence.
Michael and Glen’s mother, a university student, met at Leeds Shoe Store in the Anaheim Plaza, then an in-door mall that was a first for the city. The couple’s lives were drastically altered when Michael was drafted and left for his tour of duty on Oct. 22, 1965, as a member of the U.S. Army C Company, 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division. His Company was ambushed on a route north of Lai Khe, where Michael and 16 others in his company were killed during heavy combat.
Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, on Aug. 17, 1943, Michael’s family migrated to Orange County and made their home at 207 Vine Street. Like other youth growing up in Anaheim in the 1950s and ‘60s, Michael watched movies at Fox Theater, played sports, went to the beach, dated and attended school at Anaheim High. After graduating in 1961, Michael and his brother, John, traveled the world.
After his time in the Marines, Glen moved to Southern California and grew even closer to his birth father’s family. “I looked a lot like Mike, and I was able to provide healing to my grandparents and my birth mother. I was proud I could help with any little bit of healing from their loss of Mike.”
Glen said his grandmother is his hero. “My Grandmother (Francis) lost a brother in WWII and a son in Vietnam. Today, at age 99, she is still a strong woman of faith. She volunteered with her church and the Gold Star Mothers for years and brought strength to others.”
Michael, who is buried in the Anaheim Cemetery, is remembered by his sister, Debbie Nance McCommons, an AHS Class of ’77 graduate: “He is missed every day by his family and friends who will never forget his smile, humor, love of life and joy in living. We learn from his example.”
Please join the AHS Alumni Association in saluting these Colonist Vietnam War K.I.A. service members. These Fallen Heroes will be honored at a March 29 Vietnam Veterans Commemorative Pinning Ceremony at Anaheim High. The 4 to 6 p.m. ceremony will be held in front of the gymnasium. Several of their family members will be in attendance. Their photos and stories will be posted in the near future. To RSVP for the event, please click here.
ANDERSON, JAMES HOWARD -1941-1968
U.S. ARMY – CLASS OF 1959
CULLEN, DENNIS JOHN-1945-1966
U.S. ARMY – CLASS OF 1965
EASTON, JOHN WILLIAM-1941-1968
U.S. ARMY – CLASS OF 1959
FIGUEROA, FRANK N.-1945-1970
U.S. ARMY – CLASS OF 1964
GRAHAM, GILBERT JAMES-1946-1967
U.S. NAVY – CLASS OF 1965
GUERRERO, JOSES F. JR.-1949-1970
U.S. ARMY – CLASS OF 1969
KENNEDY, JACQUE-1942-1969
U.S. ARMY – CLASS OF 1960
LINN, DAVID WILLIAM-1942-1967
U.S. ARMY – CLASS OF 1960
LOPEZ, MAX ANDY – 1944-1967
U.S. ARMY – CLASS OF 1963
MCCOMMONS, MICHAEL RAY-1943-1966
U.S. ARMY – CLASS OF 1961
MOORE, ROBERT NED-1947-1968
U.S. ARMY – CLASS OF 1966
REYNOLDS, MICHAEL MONROE-1948-1968
U.S. ARMY – CLASS OF 1968
RODDAM, RODDNEY ALLEN-1948-1968
U.S. ARMY – CLASS OF 1966
SCHMIDT, STEVEN WARREN-1947-1968
U.S. ARMY – CLASS OF 1965
TALLMAN, GEORGE L. – 1945-1967
U.S. ARMY – CLASS OF 1963
WATTS, THOMAS-1948-1969
U.S. ARMY – CLASS OF 1966
On a solemn, stormy day 74 years after making the ultimate sacrifice for his country, AHS Class of ’34 Colonist John Liekhus was buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery.
