Community members gathered at Lancaster Cemetery on Veterans Day to honor the bravery, dedication, and sacrifices of veterans who have protected the nation’s values and way of life.
The ceremony began with a presentation of colors by the AV Young Marines. U.S. Marine Corps veteran John Graves led the Pledge of Allegiance, and Angela Hearns sang the national anthem. Korean War veteran Bishop Henry Hearns delivered the invocation. The AV Blue Star Moms: Chapter 14, placed memorial wreaths for each branch of service. Veterans Larry Conedy, U.S. Army, and Wendell Cuffy, U.S. Navy, shared memories of their childhoods and military service.
U.S. Army Veteran Larry Conedy, who grew up in the Antelope Valley in the late 1960s, described first stepping into a recruiting office. During the summer, he would visit his grandparents’ farm in Littlerock. He moved to Lancaster in 1969 and attended Quartz Hill High School. His family lived across from one of only two Los Angeles County sheriff’s detectives in the area, who often checked in on Conedy and his friends.
One day, after trying to avoid the detectives, Conedy ducked into a recruiting office, where he decided to take the military entrance exam. At just 15 years and six months old, he needed his mother’s signature to enlist early. Concerned about his education, she signed after the recruiter assured her Conedy could earn a GED in the service.
Determined to serve in Vietnam, Conedy later realized, “I fought tooth and nail to go to ‘Nam’… I didn’t know what I was asking for.” Instead, he was stationed in Germany from 1975 to 1986, working as a truck driver for various companies. During his time there, he married and had two children.
Upon returning to the United States, Conedy struggled with addiction but eventually got his life back on track. Reflecting on his experiences, he said, “I realized that God used me and gave me a chance to get my life together so that I could go help another. God blesses us so that we may bless others.”
U.S. Navy veteran Wendell Cuffy, who grew up in a tough New Jersey neighborhood, shared his eagerness to leave. At 17, he enlisted as a hospital corpsman in the Navy. After completing boot camp in San Diego, he was assigned to the Marine Corps as a hospital corpsman and spent ten years with Marine units.
“Those I look fondly on as some of the best years of my life. I was always treated with high regard, lots of respect from the Marine officers, the senior NCOs, and, of course, my Marines,” Cuffy said.
Reflecting on the Marine Corps’ impact, he spoke about devotion to duty.
“In my mind, what duty really means is doing things you know should be done, that need to be done, even if you don’t want to do them,” he said. “Even if it’s uncomfortable, even if you’re afraid.”
Cuffy is also the newest board member of the Antelope Valley Cemetery District.
