A World War II veteran from Torrance makes the same walk out of his front door, and down the entry way each and every morning precisely at 8 a.m.
Not for exercise. But to raise the U.S. flag he spent so many years defending.
“I’ve always raised it,” said Leroy Forehand. “I’ve always had a flag. It’s something you do; you put it out to be proud of.”
At 102-years-old, the walk isn’t as easy as it used to be. But it’s one he rarely misses.
“If it’s raining I don’t (do it).”
Soon after graduating from high school, Forehand joined the armed forces, and served in World War II. He said he did it not necessarily because he wanted to, but rather out of a sense of duty.
“I don’t know; it was just one of those things you did. You didn’t have to have a reason. It was there and you did it.”
His time in the armed forces is where he learned to raise the flag every morning and lower it every night. Etiquette for the U.S. flag is something he takes personally.
“I know people who take their flags out, leave them out around the clock, and don’t pay any attention to them. It bothers me.”
It’s something he’s passed onto his caregiver, who now assists him with raising and lowering the flag outside his home each day.
“He taught me what we’re supposed to be doing and not doing to show respect with the flag,” said Virginia Pena. “And all of (us) caregivers being immigrants, it’s a very good learning experience for us.”
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