BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — At Historic Union Cemetery, a Bakersfield business owner is working to preserve the legacy of his father and other local veterans.
George Clerou, whose family founded Clerou Tire Company in East Bakersfield in 1942, said honoring veterans is deeply personal.
“All four of these individuals were from Bakersfield,” Clerou said while looking through photographs of his father and his friends in uniform. “And they all went to high school together.”
The photos tell the story of a generation of Bakersfield men who went off to war together during World War II.
Clerou’s father, Joseph Clerou, was a Bakersfield native who played football at Bakersfield High School and Bakersfield College before earning a scholarship to the University of San Francisco. After graduating, he joined the Marine Corps.
“They said all of a sudden, ‘Hey Joe, you’re going to Pendleton and you’re a company commander,’” George Clerou said. “And here he was, a second lieutenant fresh out of Marine Corps boot camp.”
As World War II intensified, Joseph Clerou trained soldiers before deploying to Guadalcanal. He later traveled to New Zealand, where he helped train members of the Second Marine Division.
In November 1943, he was deployed to Tarawa, one of the bloodiest battles in the Pacific theater.
“He was now a captain in a pioneer battalion handling logistics and supplies, and that was a very heated battle,” George Clerou said.
Joseph Clerou survived several more battles and later served during the Korean War. By then, he was married with two children, including George.
“He figured, ‘I can’t get shot at again,’” George Clerou said. “Instead of being deployed to Korea, he ended up spending the Korean War in Virginia.”
George Clerou said growing up with a military father came with discipline, but also love and respect.
“He was a colonel in the Marine Corps, so you didn’t want to cross him,” he said. “It was his way or no way, but we all loved him.”
Today, Clerou continues to honor veterans through both the family business and his role on the board of Historic Union Cemetery.
“People don’t understand the sacrifice, or they take that sacrifice for granted,” he said. “I don’t want to forget them. I don’t want to forget any of these headstones. They all have a story.”
Joseph Clerou 1919-2003.
Historic Union Cemetery will host a Memorial Day celebration Monday at 9 a.m. to honor local veterans.
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