(KERO) — Brother and sister, Margarita Hernandez and Noe Gonzalez took a moment today to remember their father, who passed three years ago and is now buried at the Bakersfield National Cemetery.
Francisco G. Rodriguez served in World War ll, and Hernandez says he volunteered to serve in the Korean War. He was also a migrant, a security officer, and was involved in a veterans group in Shafter.
“He was constantly standing up for his country. always praising how he served and how he was always happy with what his life had contributed to this country," they said.
This Memorial Day, Union Cemetery, a historic site for Kern County veterans paid tribute to our local veterans with music and a cannon salute. Congressman Kevin McCarthy telling the story of Robert Bob Livermore, who he says volunteered at the age of `19, the day after Pearl Harbor. He ultimately lost his life in the Battle of Torah. Livermore was laid to rest at the cemetery in 2019.
“We never forgot the sacrifice he made from Kern County," McCarthy said. "There’s so many stories like that with so many families, so no it’s not a long weekend, it’s a weekend to remember, but also rededicate yourself. not just this weekend, but every day. we live to, live up to what they expected of us.”
Thousands of flags laid on the graves of our local veterans at Greenlawn Cemetery.
City of Bakersfield Mayor Karen Goh also drawing attention to the significance of those flags.
“We’re reminded that our flag does not fly because the wind moves it," Mayor Goh said. "It flies with the last breath of each soldier who died protecting it.”
