Korean Veteran's Service Honored

Local James Cash was surprised by his family with a military banner honoring his service and installed in a public ceremony early this month. Cash was drafted in the Army in 1965 and served for two years. He started his training in boot camp in Louisiana then came back to California where he worked as a wheel mechanic. "I worked on anything that had wheels," he said. After California, Cash was sent to Fort Benning, Georgia where he worked as a tank mechanic. "After that, I spent the rest of my time in Korea... which was about 14 months," he added. "I went everywhere...that was the fun part. I really enjoyed serving. I wouldn't want to go back but I wouldn't change my experience for anything." Although Cash was born in Arkansas, he was raised in Colton and graduated from Colton High School in 1962. "After serving I came back to my home, in Colton, where my family is," he said. His wife Sharon and two children Tanna and Zack orchestrated and surprised him with his own military banner. "He didn't know until we turned on the wrong street," Tanna shared. "We told him we were all going out to eat for breakfast and as we went a different direction he said, 'This isn't the right way. Where are we going?'" As they pulled up at the corner of C and Seventh streets, Cash saw the military banner. All of his family and friends gathered to honor him. Tanna added, "He's not a very emotional guy but you can tell this meant a lot to him." After serving for in the Army, Cash worked for Kaiser Steel for four years and went on working at Matco Construction for 28 years. In 1999, he started working for the Colton Joint Unified School District, where he worked in maintenance and taking care of ball fields. Now retired, Cash shared that he truly enjoyed all the jobs and duties he has had over the years.