Boeding honored over Christmas for servce during WWII

World War II veteran Harold Boeding spent two Christmases missing his family when serving on the San Clemente while stationed in the South Pacific.

This year, the 95-year-old EveryStep Hospice patient was surrounded by his family as he was honored for his service during a special Veteran Pinning Ceremony on Dec. 26.

'You can't say no to that,” Boeding, surrounded by his son, daughter-in-law, and two grandchildren, said of the opportunity to serve his country.

Those two Christmases in the South Pacific were tough for Boeding, who recalls missing his family, and future wife Joan, each Christmas Eve. Still, he did all he could to make sure he and his fellow shipmates had a bit of fun.

Each night, Boeding would sit with the man in charge of the nightly entertainment, a movie. When that man left the ship, Boeding took over movie duties, often going ashore to swap cigarettes for the best movies to show.

Movies weren't the only thing the Savannah Heights Care Center resident saw while aboard the San Clemente. The ship just happened to be docked right next to the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay when the Peace Treaty was signed.

'This was such an honor for him,” Rollie Boeding said as his father received a lapel pin, certificate and a patriotic quilt made by local volunteers.