DAY OF REMEMBRANCE SOUTHLAND HONORS ITS WAR VETERANS.

Byline: Sylvia L. Oliande Staff Writer

THOUSAND OAKS - Heartfelt tributes were paid Saturday for the sacrifices made for their country by men and women who served in U.S. military forces, as people throughout the Southland came together for Veterans Day.

In Thousand Oaks, a small gathering in front of the Veterans memorial at Conejo Creek Park drew about 100 people - many of them veterans clad in their old uniforms or bearing medals and other symbols of their time in the service.

Thousand Oaks Mayor Dennis Gillette said that as a former Marine whose father and brother also served in the miliary during World War II and the Korean War, he has a deep recognition of the debt society has to the military.

``We heard it many times today, freedom is not free. . . . All over the world our young men and women work to serve and protect us and our way of life,'' he said. ``I believe it's because of that protection we can go through the fiasco that we're going through with this election. We know that we can get through it calmly, unlike what might happen in some other countries. We do it because the country is strong and we have a strong military.''

Veterans Day, originally known as Armistice Day, marks the anniversary of the signing of the peace accord to end World War I - then described as the war to end all wars. As many of the men and women in attendance could personally attest, many wars and conflicts followed.

``I sure hope we could never forget what all the vets in the various wars fought for, that is America,'' said Ken Rufener, 80, who served in the Air Force during World War II. ``It's a way to show people that we haven't forgotten and we'll never forget.''

Several veterans said they were concerned the majority of those at the ceremony were there because they themselves had served. Civilians, especially children, also should recognize the holiday, they said.

One family, Marianne and Wyman Dunford of Westlake Village, said they went to the ceremony precisely because they wanted their 8-year-old son Mark to learn what Veterans Day is all about.

``We wanted him to kind of understand that his grandfathers fought in the wars, and we have to remember the people that fought and were killed in the wars,'' said Marianne. ``We want him to learn that's why he gets a school holiday, not just to watch TV.''

In other areas of the Southland, Gov. Gray Davis, a veteran of the Vietnam War, participated in a parade and memorial dedication in Long Beach. The Long Beach Vietnam Veterans Memorial has a representation of a Huey helicopter mounted on a pole, with a memorial underneath bearing the names of 103 honorees from the city.

And County Supervisor Mike Antonovich was in Arcadia, hosting Remembering Our Veterans and Their Families, which included a flyover by World War II-era planes and a tribute to the sailors who died on the USS Cole.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1) ROTC cadets from Crenshaw High School open the Veterans Day service at Conejo Valley Veterans Memorial.

(2) From left, retired Air Force lieutenant colonels Wolf D. Ascher and Ken Rufener salute the sound of taps Saturday.

John Kennedy/Special to the Daily News