'GHOST OF MIRA LOMA' AT REST CEREMONY AIMS TO MAKE PEACE.Byline: GIDEON RUBIN Staff Writer LANCASTER -- Somewhere up there, Meyer Bernard Himelstaub must be smiling. The man entrenched en·trench also in·trench v. en·trenched, en·trench·ing, en·trench·es v.tr. 1. To provide with a trench, especially for the purpose of fortifying or defending. 2. in Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley lore 1. Lore - Object-oriented language for knowledge representation. "Etude et Realisation d'un Language Objet: LORE", Y. Caseau, These, Paris-Sud, Nov 1987. 2. Lore - CGE, Marcoussis, France. Set-based language E-mail: Christophe Dony Himelstaub was a 22-year-old British Royal Air Force cadet assigned to the Antelope Valley's War Eagle Field -- now the site of Mira Loma county detention center A detention center or a detention centre is any location used for detention. Specifically, it can mean:
tr.v. de·cap·i·tat·ed, de·cap·i·tat·ing, de·cap·i·tates To cut off the head of; behead. [Late Latin d by a taxiing plane he accidentally walked into on Feb. 13, 1942. Himelstaub was a Jew who escaped Nazi-dominated Poland as a child. He was an aspiring military pilot who historians say was determined to fight the Nazis in World War II. He was buried at Lancaster cemetery three days after his death, thousands of miles away from family. Sheriff's deputies and inmates have reported inexplicable in·ex·pli·ca·ble adj. Difficult or impossible to explain or account for. in·ex  pli·ca·bil events over the years, fueling speculation that Himelstaub's
restless spirit was haunting the Antelope Valley.
On Friday, the Antelope Valley attempted to make peace with Himelstaub's spirit, honoring the man's life in a ceremony in which a new headstone was unveiled at his burial site. Several prominent civic and community leaders including mayors from Lancaster and Palmdale, a representative from the British Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is a joint governmental organisation responsible for marking and maintaining the graves of members of the Commonwealth of Nations' military forces that died in the two world wars, to build memorials to those with no known grave, and an eighth-grade Hillview Middle School Hillview Middle School is a public middle school in Menlo Park, California, part of the Menlo Park City School District. It is notable as having been named a California Distinguished School seven times. history class instrumental in organizing the event were among about 200 people who attended the ceremony. A War Graves A war grave is a place where war dead are buried. It may contain either a combatant or a civilian. Although the victim does not need to die directly from enemy action, the main reason for calling a grave a war grave is that the death occurred as a result of active service by the Commission request that Himelstaub be given a new headstone provided the impetus for the ceremony. Among those who spoke at the event was Rabbi David Hoffman. Tears streamed across the faces of several Hillview students during the ceremony. The students' study of Himelstaub's life compelled them to become involved in the ceremony. "He's become like family," Hillview student Dulcie Adhiambo said. "His legacy was that he was going for his dream of going to fight Hitler, even though he didn't really fullfil it. We just wanted everyone to know what really happened." The ceremony concluded with missing-man formation flyover used by the Royal Air Force to honor dead pilots. The flyover featured vintage Steerman and AT-6 planes. Antelope Valley military historian Bob Alvis said Himelstaub likely flew a Steerman, an aviation classic that features two stacked wings. "You never want to forget our fallen, and this was a nice gesture to show the English that we appreciate your fallen," said Alvis, who helped organize the event. "The ghost of War Eagle Field is not a great legacy for a fallen cadet ... it's kind of become a carnival sideshow See Windows SideShow. ," Alvis said. "It is part of his history and we will live with that, but as far as honoring his legacy, this is what we want to remember, not his terrorizing kids on Halloween." gideon.rubin@dailynews.com (661) 267-7802 CAPTION(S): 3 photos Photo: (1) Quartz Hill High band member Christopher Reinert, 16, plays taps at a memorial for Cadet Meyer Bernard Himelstaub. (2 -- ran in SAC edition only) Rabbi David Hoffman of Beth Knesset Bamidbar leads a memorial service Friday for Cadet Meyer Bernard Himelstaub at Lancaster cemetery. (3 -- ran in AV edition only) Left, Gerald Mayer of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission attends service. Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer |
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