veterans day

On this week's Valley Edition: Now that California voters have said no to the idea of restoring affirmative action, we take a look at what this will mean for public higher education.

Plus, in honor of Veterans Day, we talk to Peggy and Edward Pastana about how their bond helped them overcome an accident that recently kept them apart.

And a documentary from a UC Merced professor explores the refugee experience through the eyes of children.

Wednesday was Veterans Day. In honor of the holiday, FM89’s news director Alice Daniel spoke with a couple who live at the Fresno Veterans Home and have been married for 70 years. They’ve had their share of challenges during the pandemic, including living apart for three months. But as you’ll hear in this audio postcard, they’ve gotten by with love and a sense of humor. 

This Veterans Day a portion of Highway 198 next to Sequoia National Park is getting a new name in honor of Colonel Charles Young. He’s the first African American to serve as superintendent of a national park and achieve the rank of colonel in the U.S. Army.

In honor of Veterans Day, we went to the Veterans Home of California in Fresno to hear stories from residents. We spoke to three vets about their experiences in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. Listen to the audio above hear an audio postcard from Fresno veterans Jim Appleton, Elsa Barry and Gordon Scott.

This report is the second piece in the Valley Public Radio series "Common Threads: Veterans Still Fighting The War." Support for this series comes from Cal Humanities, as part of the War Comes Home initiative. 

From the time he graduated from Dinuba High School, Matthew Walker was on a mission. And it didn’t include a college education.

“That was for ‘other people,’ that hadn’t gotten enough of that ‘book learning,’ he says, with a twinkle in his eye. “I was going to make a man’s choice, and not a geeky choice, and join the Marine Corps.”

He served as a Marine for six years.