Carlee Guthaus,
Period 1
Jesse Figueroa
United States Navy
2 years of service
Jesse Figueroa
In April of 1949, Jesse Figueroa was born in the city of La Puente, California. Jesse lived there for 19 years before he voluntarily enlisted in the United States Navy. He served his country from October of 1968 to October 9th, 1970 for a total of two years in the service. He now lives in Mira Loma, California and is a member of the Country Village Veteran’s Association. Jesse says that he has “no regrets”regarding joining the Navy; it matured him beyond his actual age, 19, due to the responsibilities he was given.
When Jesse was 19, he was working in a warehouse in La Puente, his hometown, when he received a letter about joining the military. When he first received this letter, there was also a story going around that a draft was taking place in the city that he lived in. Jesse did not want to join the Army so he decided to explore his other possible options. After a very long talk with his dad that lasted until 5am in the morning, he made a decision on what branch of the military he was going to join. Figueroa decided to enlist in the United States Navy, and he started bootcamp later that year.
Figueroa spent two long years in San Diego, California while enlisted in the Navy. He had to endure bootcamp for several months before starting any work. An instance that he recalls from bootcamp was where he slept; he was housed in World War 2 barracks every night while stationed in San Diego for boot camp. Bootcamp was rough; all of the new kids in the Navy got called names and had empty bottles of alcohol thrown at them on a frequent basis. Despite his struggles through camp, Jesse came out stronger that ever. He was placed on the Ticonderoga CVA-14. Before Figueroa was placed on this ship, it was attacked by a kamikaze, which was a Japanese suicide plane. The ship was till salvagable, therefore allowing him to be able to work on it. Jesse had several jobs while enlisted in the Navy. He held the positions of custodian, disperser, and yoman. As a disperser, he worked in the payroll department and was in charge of handing out everyone’s paycheck on payday. While employed as a yoman, Figueroa’s job was to type out cafeteria menus and work in the office. One time, Figueroa was walking down a road in his uniform when a random car pulled up next to him and asked him if he needed a ride. At first, he was hesitant because of his bad experiences in boot camp, but he finally put his trust into the driver when he said “This is how we treat men in the military. We treat them with respect.”In late 1970, Jesse had the chance to get out of the military. He seized this opportunity but would later come to the realization that he made the wrong decision at that time. If he would have stayed in the Navy for a few more months, then he would have had the chance and traveled the world.
Jesse now lives in Mira Loma, California and resides at the Country Village senior housing. He is a member of the seniors housing veteran’s association: the Country Village Veteran’s Association. This association currently has 49 active members. They Meet once a month and have a luncheon for anyone who is a member of the organization. They, the officers, try to hold as many fun and engaging events as possible each month to make their members feel appreciated for their service to the United States of America.
Jesse is an inspiration to all young people contemplating what they want to do with their lives. Figueroa stated that the military, any branch, “will mature you”and prepare you for anything. He also told me that he has absolutely no regrets about joining the military. The Navy has shaped him into the person he is today. He now keeps busy with his activities in the Veteran’s Association and will forever be grateful for his decision to join the United States Navy.