Our Veterans
In honor of those who served our country in the armed forces, this San Marino Tribune article continues a series of individual salutes to our courageous veterans.
By Mitch Lehman
Wendell ‘Mort’ Mortimer learned many lessons during his short stint in the United States Army, not to mention some skills that no doubt served him well as a respected judge. Following orders might be the most valuable, but we’ll get to that later. A San Marino lifer, Mortimer’s military career began quite circuitously at a very tender age.
“When I turned 16, one of my friends at South Pasadena-San Marino High School figured out that we could register for the draft in either Pasadena or Alhambra,” Mortimer explained. “He thought that the boys in Pasadena mostly went to college and then were drafted when they got out. In Alhambra fewer went to college and many enlisted right out of high school. He reasoned that Alhambra had no problem in meeting their quota, so we should register in Alhambra to avoid the draft – so that’s what we did.”
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