Aracely Connection

Several months ago, my friend, Army Veteran Aracely Ivanova Jimenez, whom I interviewed two years ago, recommended that I interview her friend, Vietnam Veteran Steven Anderson. It took a while due to the dreadful Corona Virus, but Steve and I finally recently met at the Corner Bakery’s patio, so here’s his story.

Sunny Southern California

Steven Robert Anderson was born in Chicago’s south side on November 26, 1949, where he and his family lived for two years until his father moved the family back to his roots in Southern California.

They settled into a Pacoima home in 1952, where they lived for the next fifteen years. Pacoima was known as a rough and tumble community, and Steve began running with, what I would call ne’re-do-wells, and picking up some regrettable habits.

Fortunately, his father’s lithography business was doing well; however, he and Steve’s mother divorced, resulting in her moving the family across town, south of Ventura Boulevard, into the upscale community of Sherman Oaks.

This change affected Steve in a very positive manner, as he went from gang banging to surfing. Steve also gained a strong work ethic during high school working at a furniture factory, washing dishes and cooking onion rings at Bob’s Big Boy on Van Nuys Boulevard.

When not working or going to high school, you could find Steve cruising Van Nuys Boulevard or surfing at the beach. Along the way, he took up scuba diving, obtaining his certification.

U.S. Army Volunteer

Steve graduated from Ulysses S. Grant High School in East Central San Fernando Valley on June 19, 1967. After high school, Steve worked at the Albright and Zimmerman Furniture Factory (hi-end) in Van Nuys until he volunteered for the U.S. Army on December 11, 1967.

By January 3, 1968, Steve had travelled to Fort Ord, California, and was attending Basic Training for eight weeks, and then he attended Truck Driving School for another eight weeks. Following training, in May 1968, Steve was granted a two-week leave of absence to return home to his family, and next, he took a passenger airliner out of LAX to Cam Ranh Bay, South Vietnam.

Upon arrival, he was assigned as a replacement to Bravo Company with the 84th Engineer Regiment. Days later, he travelled via convoy to Camp Binh Than, a nearby mountain base camp, where he was based for his entire twelve-month tour of duty.

Bull Dozer Operator

Out of Camp Binh Than, Steve and his unit built bridges and roadways for military use, which was much appreciated by local villagers. Steve’s favorite assignment was operating a bulldozer as he loved the power of those heavy machines; however, that assignment required Steve to extend his tour of duty by six months.

Building bridges and roads was a dangerous job as the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong was hell-bent for leather to disrupt Army operations. Often, Steve and his buddies came under enemy fire, and there was constant worry of land mines. On one occasion, Steve’s Bull Dozer was blown up. At one point, the nearby R & R center at “Miami Beach” along the China Sea needed a lifeguard, so Steve volunteered, and to his amazement, he ended up saving several lives. Some of the soldiers on R&R didn’t know how to handle ocean swimming. This cool assignment also enabled Steve to take up his favorite surfing hobby for the remainder of his tour of duty.

After serving eighteen months in Vietnam, Steve returned home on Christmas Day, 1969, for a thirty-day leave of absence. Afterward, he reported to Denver’s Rocky Mountain Arsenal, a chemical weapons manufacturing center.

Honorable Discharge

Steve was discharged from the Army Fitzsimmons General Hospital on December 11, 1970, completing his three-year commitment to Uncle Sam. Steve’s information was a bit sketchy during this general time frame, but he married his first wife, and she gave birth to a wonderful son before the couple divorced in 1973.

Soon after the Army, Steve worked in his Dad’s company, “Northwest Lithograph,” for two years, but he struck out to become a Dental Technician for the next four years. Being the restless type, Steve also started his own picture frame business, which he operated for four years.

Ultimately Steve worked a variety of jobs, including sales at Eternal Valley Memorial Park and Cemetery, Life Alerts and he even worked for a small San Fernando Valley newspaper, “The Northridger”. In 2005 Steve was able to cease working for a living, but his life’s next journey led him to write poetry, from which he hopes to produce a book in the near future.

Poet and Author

Going back to his early days, Steve had noticed a pretty young schoolmate named Cindy, with whom he reconnected with in May of 1978, which led them to dating and then marriage at the Little Brown Church of the Valley on July 21, 1979.

This wonderful couple is raising seven boys, three were adopted. These days, Steve’s days are spent advocating for Homes for Families, writing Poetry and raising his younger boys.

In November 2016, Steve moved his family into a Santa Clarita Veterans home near Bowman High School on Centre Point (a Home for Families project).

Steve, I want to thank you for your honorable service to our country and for achieving your American Dream of homeownership and raising a fine family.

Here is a sample of Steve’s poetry based on his military experience:

– Home –

Going home today

One year

One thousand tears

Start the engines

Get me out of here

I wanna go

You’ll never know

Hurry hurry

The sun

The rain

Guns and mortars

Rice and grain

Snakes and bugs

Gooks and thugs

Hate the food

Hate the dirt

Hate the smoke

hate my shirt

Just take me home

Cut the chain, set me free

Just get me home

From this land of Misery

KHTS FM 98.1 and AM 1220 is Santa Clarita’s only local radio station. KHTS mixes in a combination of news, traffic, sports, and features along with your favorite adult contemporary hits. Santa Clarita news and features are delivered throughout the day over our airwaves, on our website and through a variety of social media platforms. Our KHTS national award-winning daily news briefs are now read daily by 34,000+ residents. A vibrant member of the Santa Clarita community, the KHTS broadcast signal reaches all of the Santa Clarita Valley and parts of the high desert communities located in the Antelope Valley. The station streams its talk shows over the web, reaching a potentially worldwide audience. Follow @KHTSRadio on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.