WENDY PIERRO/Acorn Newspapers NEXT GENERATION—Recent U.S. Marine recruit Ken Kalemkarian, 19, stands beside 83yearold World War II Navy veteran Bob Haseley at the Veterans Plaza in Simi Valley. Both joined the military at a young age during wartime. With more than 60 years between them, World War II veteran Bob Haseley and new Marine recruit Ken Kalemkarian don't look like they have much in common on the surface.

One is of an older generation, as evidenced by the walker he uses to get around and the wispy strands of silver hair atop his balding head. The other is young, tan, lean—his shoulders strong enough to carry the uniform bestowed upon him, but a look at his face reveals he is just becoming a man.

Still, connections can be found in their service stories: Both entered the military when they were barely out of boyhood, during a time when the nation was at war.

Boys leaving to war

After 83 years, Haseley's memory is not as good as it used to be.

But the day he decided to join the U.S. Navy after the attack on Pearl Harbor he remembers clearly, as if it happened yesterday.

Going to school in Niagara Falls, N.Y. in 1942, he saw boys his age leaving one after the other for the frontlines.

"It was in high school; we had about 20 girls in my class and five guys, and that was more than I could handle," the Simi resident said. "I decided to hop on a bus to Buffalo and take my physical. I was only 16."

He passed the physical and was told the Navy would love to have him once he turned 17 and got his parents' permission to join. But that was easier said than done.

"My mother didn't want to sign right away, and I begged her," Haseley said. "She didn't want me to die in the war. . . . She did everything she could to change my mind."

And he did the same, going as far as waging a "hunger strike" against his mother until she finally gave in.

"I can understand her feelings now, but at that time I only had one thing in mind: I wanted to prove I wasn't afraid and get even for what they did to us in Pearl Harbor," Haseley said.

During his service, Haseley worked as a radioman and went overseas for two years on an amphibious Landing Craft Control boat, which he called the second most secret weapon of WWII. Haseley took part in three invasions, one being the Battle of Leyte Gulf—considered the largest naval campaign in history.

Today, the former Navy man says without a hint of sarcasm that he is surprised he has lived as long as he has.

Though he uses a walker to get around after breaking his femur a year ago, Haseley's resilience shines through his square-rimmed glasses.

An active member of the local Disabled American Veterans, he raises money for the organization each year as chair of its ForgetMeNot drive.

And that is exactly what he aims to do: not forget.

Part of that means attending last Tuesday's Veterans Day ceremony at Simi's Veterans Plaza, something the octogenarian has done for as long as he can remember.

"It brings back old memories of things that happened to me while I was overseas," said Haseley, whose name is inscribed on one of the pilasters in the plaza. "And I never want to forget any of those things—even though my memory is kind of short."

His choice

For 19-year-old Marine Kalemkarian, whose recruiters call him "Special K," this year's Veterans Day service was his first.

Though he is new to the military, Kalemkarian said Veterans Day is still meaningful to him, partly because his grandfather is a WWII Army vet.

"It kind of makes me look at where I'll end up," he said. "I went there to show my respect to all the veterans that helped out our country and just give thanks to them."

Kalemkarian was born in Osaka, Japan, and spent three years living with his grandparents in China before his family moved to Simi when he was 10.

At the beginning of his senior year at Santa Susana High School—he graduated in June— Kalemkarian enrolled in the Marines' delayed entry program. Much like Haseley, he did so without telling his parents, who were not thrilled by the idea when they found out.

Despite his mother's misgivings, he decided to enlist because he didn't know what he wanted to do after high school and he knew college was not for him.

His uncle, who served in the Marine Corps for 25 years, also inspired him to join.

"He never told me to join the Marine Corps at all, but he was a good mentor to me," Kalemkarian said. "I knew the Marine Corps was the most challenging service, the most disciplined. . . . The Marine Corps was a shining light to me."

The opportunity to learn different skills while traveling the world and meeting new people also appealed to him.

The probability that he will go to war does not scare him; in fact, he is excited by the prospect, calling it "a crazy adventure."

"I want to go into combat," he said. "That's the kind of mindset you have to have if you want to join the Marine Corps."

Already, Kalemkarian says, the Marines have changed him for the better, adding that after he finished boot camp on Oct. 31 he felt like a grown-up.

"Upon graduation, I felt everything that I went through was all worth it," he said. "Thirteen weeks of hell, but a title for life as a Marine."

On Monday, Kalemkarian will go to Camp Pendleton for three weeks of combat training. After that, he will receive new orders. Eventually, the young recruit will train to become an unmanned air vehicle operator.

Though they are from different times and different services, Kalemkarian is, in a sense, the continuation of the promise Haseley made years ago to serve and protect—a promise that had first been made long before.

"It was well worth the sacrifice I gave," Haseley said. "I didn't do it actually for myself. I did it for everyone that lives in the country."