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Okay. This is Our American Stories and now it's time for the McClellan files where we go deep inside the life of, well, Bob McClellan. Bob walks us through right now the lessons he learned and passed on to his kids over the years by simply walking through the Golden Gate National Cemetery. The Golden Gate National Cemetery lies 12 miles south of San Francisco and is home for 137,000 graves. Congress authorized construction of the facility in 1937 with the first interments in 1941.
The cemetery was officially dedicated on Memorial Day, May 30, 1942. The California Attorney General Earl Warren, who later became the Chief Justice of the United States and the leader of the legal battle for integration, was the keynote speaker. It's a place I know real well. I grew up on the hill above the cemetery and probably passed by it every day. my friends and myself often walked through it on our way into town.
At night, we would even jump the fence to see who was a real scaredy cat wandering around the graves. One night, while walking through the cemetery, I stepped on the soft grass of a new grave and as my shoes sank in the freshly dug soil, it felt like some corpse had just reached up and grabbed my ankle and was trying to pull me down. Boy, it would send me running through the graveyard as fast as I could go. On Memorial Day, the Boy Scouts and volunteers will place a small American flag in front of each tombstone. After they are done, the grounds would appear to come alive from the motion of the little flags waving in the wind.
Over the years, I would take my children to place flags in front of the gravestones and afterwards walk to my father's gravesite. After paying our respects, we descended down the mound to walk through the grounds. Little did I realize that our journey through the grounds would take us down below the surface into the underworld of the dead and from them be given a revelation of the future. Memorial Day is a time to remember the past. I have lots of memories about my father, and I share them with my kids when we visit him.
But I also take time to point out how much we can learn about what it is to be an American. and what this place can tell us about the future of our country. My father is buried on the mound. upon which flies a giant American flag standing guard over the men and women who served it well. The facts of his life are chiselled across the face of the stone, and each one contains a story about him and the world in which he lived.
This stone, like his dog tags, gives you the essential facts of Robert Alden McClellan Sr., Master Sergeant, USMC retired, World War II, Korea, born 10 November 1916, died 26 August 1986. The stone is a factual summary of him, without any life or color, but for a few moments memory changes all of that. The fact that most defined them were the words World War two, a synonym for the Battle of Guadalcanal, As a marine, he spent six months on that island fighting with malaria without help, supplies, or reinforcements. His date of birth is the 10th of November, which is the same day as the Marine Corps birthday, and for the 21 years he served in the Marines, it was the biggest event in our family. There is a cross on top of the stone, but my father was really not much of a Christian, as he liked sin way too much to give it up for religion.
but he did have a great capacity for faith. The object of his faith was the United States Marine Corps. when he was buried, I had them inscribe at the bottom of the stone the Marine Corps motto semper fidelis, which means always faithful. Standing there remembering my father's character reminded me of what it was about him that I loved so much. I pointed out to my children that memories aren't just about sentiment, conjuring up old feelings and images, but teachers of the greatness of the individual lying under the ground and all those around him.
In this place, men and women are buried in this cemetery who fought and served this country from the Spanish-American War all the way through Afghanistan in so many places. They must have had a vision of the future for our country, to be worth dying for, and to protect it from harm. I found it simply inspirational. and the urge to participate in something important welled up in my chest. Walking down from the mound to meander among the graves below, I pointed out a tombstone of a young marine PFC.
I said, see, his birthday's 1948. and his date of death is 1966. His Campaign Vietnam. I told him this marine likely died in accident somewhere in a jungle or a rice paddy in Southeast Asia at age 18. I too was born in 1948.
And I remember when I went into the Marines. In spite of so many conflicting and confusing reasons whether or not to go it, it just became something I had to do. I felt that failing to do so would always leave me feeling incomplete. My life needed something greater than the pursuit of personal gratification. I was only seventeen when I enlisted.
Finally I think I did so to prove something to myself. But why did this marine go? He must have believed by going that he would help make the world a safer and freer place. Maybe it gave him a sense of purpose or pride. It certainly did me.
What did he believe about his future that made him volunteer?
Well, I don't know, but I guess at 18 he probably believed he would live forever. Sadly, though, he didn't. He was so young and so brave when he died. We visited some headstones which had a powdered blue flag in front of it, indicating that this person was a recipient of the Medal of Honor. The cemetery has seventeen buried on its grounds.
Standing before the gravestone, I would read from the brochure about the risk and sacrifice for others these recipients had taken. Reading this harrowing story about acting up with any regard for his personal safety gave me goosebumps. Many of the more famous military are buried here. Admiral limits. for example, who was commander of all naval and marine forces in the Central Pacific, has the largest tombstone in the cemetery.
But there are those too who are less famous or virtually unknown buried on these grounds. I took my boys over to a group of graves that contained the blasted and burnt remains of the dead. from the Port Chicago explosion. The efforts of these African Americans contributed to the victory over Japan, but their deaths, ignited great changes in America and furthered the cause of civil rights. Those great supply ships of Nimitz needed fuel and munitions to feed the ever-moving forces across the Pacific.
Planes without bombs and marines without bullets won't win a war. It was the supply ships that would make that possible. They would come up to the North Bay to fill up on fuel from the shell refinery in Martinez. and subsequently be loaded with bombs from the Naval Magazine Center at Port Chicago, just a little further up in the bay. Loading those dangerous explosives without adequate training and under abusive conditions was a job that was given to African Americans.
because they were not allowed to fight along with the military. due to the segregation policy of the armed forces. On July 17, 1944, while loading bombs on a supply ship bloated with fuel, a fire broke out, causing the ship and all the rail cars with bombs to explode. The explosion was measured at Berkeley at 3.5 on the Richter scale, and the blast climbed to 12,000 feet, killing 320 and wounding 390 men, mostly all of whom were African American. After the explosion, 50 men refused to load ships and were convicted of mutiny.
The outcry of the public was so great that they were given a retrial and found not guilty. The impact of this horrific disaster, coupled with the injustice of the trial, pushed the Navy into integrating its forces in 1945. Within a few years, all branches of the military discontinued segregation, which opened the door for someone like Colin Powell to become the first African American general, to be the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and eventually the Secretary of State. The unidentified remains of those men lie buried here under the name Unknown. There is no birth date or rank.
Just a cross. State of death. branch of service. They lie here simply anonymous, having no identity at all. With so many stories, irony is everywhere.
One is to learn that there are Japanese American soldiers from World War II buried in these graves. Right across the street from the Tanferan Racetrack. Where during the war, those with Japanese ancestry were imprisoned in the stables as the enemy. Eventually, they were offered an opportunity to join an all-Japanese regiment to fight the Germans in Europe. Despite the expropriation of their freedom and property, these Japanese American soldiers went on to become the most decorated unit in United States history.
Wow, I asked what drove these guys?
Well, it's evident they saw themselves as Americans protecting this country for the future. We walk back up to the top of the mound to stand under the unfurled flag on the spot. or a Navy bugler dressed in his whites blew taps at my father's funeral. reflecting over our walk as we ascended, I felt imbued by the knowledge of the history buried here. and realize this place is not just about the past, but of the future.
Memorials not only bring the past back, but they provide a foundation upon which to stand to prepare for what is ahead. Standing under the flag, I looked over the thousands of graves to the future. with the knowledge of who is here. in what happened to them. This knowledge gives me a hopeful vision in the face of the challenging and uncertain future ahead.
And it deeply ingrains in myself and my children an understanding of what it means to be an American. This is Our American Stories: Bob McLowan, his story, his father's story, so many soldiers' stories. Saturday, August 22nd in Tampa. Witness an MMA Legends final fight. Chris Cyborg, one of the greatest in history.
She's an absolute pioneer in the sport. Defends her PFL world title. One last time. Unforgettable end. To an unforgettable career.
Saturday, August 22nd, live from Benchmark International Arena. For tickets, visit pfl.info/slash tampa. Spending time outdoors, then let's talk about skin cancer. Non-melanoma skin cancers, or NMSCs, including basal cell carcinoma and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, are the most common cancers in the U.S. and can become harder to treat if left undetected.
That's why sun protection and timely detection matter. Our sponsor, Regeneron, is raising awareness about advanced NMSCs. Learn more and take the pledge to see a dermatologist annually at let's getreal about skincancer.com. Ice Cube's big three season has come down to this. The big three championship is coming to Charlotte, who will be crowned the big three season nine champion.
Plus the big three all-star game, the biggest names in the game, all on one court, one more time. Two games of the most physical, competitive, and non-stop three-on-three action. The game played the way you love. Watch live Saturday on CBS at 1 p.m. Eastern, 10 a.m.
Pacific, and catch replays Monday on BET. Presented by iHeart. What if you could get more from what you already do? As a Shell Fuel Rewards member, that's just a regular weekday morning. You get more rewards, more savings, and more special offers.
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