It’s been nearly 80 years since he served in the military, but Leroy Forehand, an Army and Navy veteran, still has a strict routine.
The 102-year-old wakes up early, showers and has breakfast before moving onto the most important task of his day: raising the U.S. flag at his Torrance home at 8 a.m.
“That was my job in the Navy,” Forehand recalled. “You put the flag up every day and take it down every night.”
Forehand, a Iowa native, moved to Southern California after high school and worked at Northrop Aircraft before joining the army in the early 1942. Later in the same year, he transferred to the Navy to work as an aviation ordnance technical, 3rd class, in San Bernardino.
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After raising and taking down the flag every day except on rainy days for the past 60 years, now his hands are not as strong as they used to be, so he turns to his caregivers for help in taking down the flag in the evening while teaching them the meaning of the flag.
“All caregivers learned to take care of the flag and how to respect the flag,” Virginia, one of his caregivers, said.
Forehand added he hoped more people will continue to respect the flag and honor those who have served the nation.
“We were taught to respect the flag. I was raised that day,” he said.
Another daily routine for Forehand: He goes outside with his walker and waits for his neighbors to start their daily task.
“He loves dogs, especially the neighbors’ dogs,” Virginia said about Forehand, who is also described to have a good sense of humor and likes to walk about war history. “He waits for the neighbors to bring the dogs. He said he grew up with dogs.”
Also as part of his annual routine, Forehand attended an annual Memorial Day ceremony at Veterans Park in Lomita on Monday.
