STARS AND STRIPES FOREVER; PROUD OF U.S. FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA : FRENCH IMMIGRANT KNOWS HER DAD LOVED FREEDOM.

Byline: Stories by Carol Bidwell Daily News Staff Writer

When Bob Myers pledges allegiance to the stars and stripes, he means it. He gets choked up when he hears ``The Star-Spangled Banner.'' And he's not ashamed to admit that a tear sometimes trickles down his cheek when the U.S. flag goes by during a parade.

After all, it was that flag that Myers, 76, of Northridge, fought for 55 years ago in the South Pacific, when the United States was under attack from two sides and the nation was united in patriotism and a will to win. And it was that flag that flew proudly on Sept. 2, 1945, from the deck of his tanker, the USS Waupaca, in Tokyo Bay as the Japanese signed the surrender papers that ended World War II in the Pacific.

It's the liberty won in those wars and others that makes Americans free today, a sentiment he's instilled in his son and two daughters - and a succession of six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

``It's important that kids understand what went on to get our freedom, and they need to learn it from their parents and at school,'' said Myers, a retired meat cutter who looks like Norman Rockwell's image of Everygrandfather.

Fourth of July will find his American flag flying from his front porch, and his family gathered at his daughter Sherrie's home in Northridge for a picnic that usually winds up in a talk about ancestors - a member of the Sons of the Revolution, he's descended from one of the first families to settle on the banks of the Potomac River - and what they suffered to make their descendants free today.

``People don't know what they gave up so we could fly this flag today,'' said Myers, an American-history buff. ``Most people forget what Fourth of July's all about. They just look at it as a day off from work.''

Maybe that's why he gets irritated when he sees the flag his ancestors fought for trailing on the ground outside a shop, or flapping into the bushes outside somebody's house.

``It's a matter of respect,'' Myers emphasized. ``The flag should be flown properly. We make people take a test and get a license to drive; maybe we should make 'em get a license to fly the flag.''

Although he knows some people take his dedication to letter-of-the-law flag display less than seriously, he - mostly good-naturedly - shrugs off criticism. And he still campaigns to teach respect for that red, white and blue banner - even stopping by a city hall or a school to offer advice when he sees a flag displayed incorrectly according to flag etiquette rules set down by Congress.

Myers, judge advocate emeritus of Van Nuys American Legion Post 193, the person who makes sure everything the group does follows the rules, is a stickler for doing things right.

``Using the flag wrong really ticks me off,'' Myers said. ``I know some people just think I'm a grumpy old man, but my belief comes from the heart.''

Daniele Dibie was 6 years old when she first saw this country. Coming here had been a dream of her father's for more than 30 years, but it took a world war for the French doctor to uproot his wife and daughter and leave home just steps ahead of the Nazis in 1944.

Dibie, who recalls living for six months in Lisbon, Portugal, and two years in French Morocco before passage could be arranged to America, said her father had long expected the coming of the world war and had salted money away in banks in New York, Switzerland and Egypt, preparing for the time when the family would have to flee.

``He knew that war was inevitable,'' said the Sherman Oaks woman, who is director of the English as a Second Language program at California State University, Northridge. ``He had been a doctor in the first world war and didn't want to live through it again. He had come to the United States on a visit in the 1920s and fell in love with it. And he wanted to come here to live.''

The family made it to New York unscathed in 1945, becoming U.S. citizens after a five-year waiting period, then moving to California. Her father, Marc, who changed his French surname to Parker to commemorate his new life as an American, made a successful second career for himself in real estate before he died in 1970, she said.

``He loved the opportunity here - the financial opportunity, the freedom to do what he wanted to do,'' Dibie said. ``He loved that if you had an idea, that you could develop it.''

During his visit in the 1920s, he was amazed that he was permitted to travel from state to state without inspections or passports or being stopped by border guards. ``You could travel anywhere,'' she said. ``You were free. He loved it, loved the whole pioneering spirit.''

It was a love he passed along to his daughter, who spends her days teaching foreign students to speak English so they can gain entry to U.S. universities and keep up with their native English-speaking classmates.

``It was a big change to come here,'' Dibie said. ``It was a little frightening at first. My mother cried every day for two years. But now, California especially offers some wonderful things you can't live without after you've lived here - the ability to own a home with a garden, the opportunity to send your children to a university, to make your own choices about your life.

``In the United States, you can wake up at 55 and decide you want an education and you can get it,'' Dibie said. ``You can't do that anywhere else in the world.''

Her three grandchildren live in London with her daughter, but she works hard to instill in them a love of their American homeland. ``I send them books on history and on American Indians,'' she said. ``I think they're appreciative, and that they'll remember.''

Dibie's Fourth of July celebrations are quiet, family-centered, sometimes with a trip to the Hollywood Bowl for a concert and fireworks. But amid the barbecue smoke and the skyrockets, she still appreciates what freedom means.

Recruiter serves his country with pride

Charles Roberts believes in his flag and his country so much that he's spent the past 18 years serving it. Roberts, 38, of Point Mugu, heads the U.S. Navy recruiting office in Canoga Park, explaining the benefits of Navy education and training to nervous would-be recruits.

While he doesn't hammer hard on the God-and-country reasons for joining the military, he subtly reminds young men and women seeking a career of the sentiments expressed in President John F. Kennedy's inaugural speech.

``I'll ask them, `What better thing can you be doing than serving your country, while getting something for yourself in return?' '' Robert said.

While most rookie sailors are primarily concerned about the benefits and education the Navy offers, some tell him they're carrying on a family tradition by enlisting.

``Their dad or their mom was in the military and they want to follow in their footsteps,'' he said. ``There's still some tradition at work there.''

Roberts was just 20 when he enlisted in the Navy. His parents were pushing him toward a career as a commercial artist, but he was more interested in mechanics and saw the Navy as the place to learn. He'd also heard the old motto - ``Join the Navy and see the world'' - and that appealed to him, too.

After aviation mechanics school, he chose to go to Japan, where he served on the USS Midway, sailing to Australia, Thailand and Africa; after 4-1/2 years there, he transferred to Guam, where he served for another 3-1/2 years.

Although he enjoyed learning the customs of the places he served, there was a nagging feeling he was missing something back home: the fashions, the music, the fads. And his homeland. So when a chance to come home and be a recruiter arose in 1987, he jumped at it and was soon climbing off a plane in San Francisco.

``I was glad to be back in America,'' Roberts said. ``It felt good.''

Now, although he regards the Navy as a job more than a patriotic mission, he still feels a tug at his heartstrings when he sees the flag go by.

``Just being in the Navy makes me proud to know I'm serving my country,'' Roberts said. ``It gives me a sense of pride whenever I see a parade of sailors or soldiers who fought in the world wars. It's those people who really make me feel proud for what they did for their country.''

Fifth-grader's America houses dreams

Ashley Nathanson has a big life planned. The Santa Clarita 10-year-old wants to be a singer and a dancer and a wife and a mother and a Girl Scout leader. Oh, and a pediatrician, like her father, Steve.

And America, she believes, is the only country that will give her the freedom to do all those things.

``I think America is a place of freedom,'' said Ashley, a junior Girl Scout and a fifth-grader at Meadows Elementary School. ``It's a place where you have many opportunities for adventures.''

She knows all the words to the Pledge of Allegiance and understands what most of the words mean. And she knows that when she places her hand over her heart and says those words, she's promising to be loyal and faithful to a country that fought hard against bad people giving orders.

``It means everyone should have justice, everyone should be free,'' Ashley said. ``It means peace and freedom and faith. The American flag means peace.''

So far in history class, she's studied the Pilgrims (``That's why we have Thanksgiving''), but can't wait to learn more, especially about the Civil War and how some people came to own some other people, and how a war was fought over the issue.

``I want to know about slavery and why did they have it - and they shouldn't have had it,'' she said. ``Everybody should be free.

``Freedom means to me that people should be what they want to be, with no one bossing them around,'' Ashley said. ``I think there should be freedom all over the place.''

She and her family will celebrate Fourth of July in Las Vegas (``I'm sure there'll be fireworks there''), but she also understands that the day isn't really about picnics and fireworks, but about a new country and new opportunities for little girls like her.

``Fourth of July is about the Declaration of Independence,'' Ashley said. ``That's the day when people got their freedom and independence. That's why we call it Independence Day.''

CAPTION(S):

6 Photos

Photo: (1--Cover--Color) The Valley's Super Patriots

(2) Copy of a 1942 photo of veteran Bob Myers, with wife Mildred and son Gary.

(3) Bob Myers today, holding a 48-star U.S. flag. In background is a modern flag at his home.

Bob Halvorsen/Daily News

(4) Daniele Dibie holds a picture taken of her and her parents. Her father came to the United States from France in the 1920s and decided that this was the place to live.

David Sprague/Daily News

(5) U.S. Navy recruiter Charles Roberts has spent the last 18 years serving his country.

Evan Yee/Daily News

(6) Ashley Nathanson says America is the only country that will give her the freedom to do all the things she is planning.

Hans Gutknecht/Daily News