Looking back

Don Cantrell

The infamous Dec. 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese

still brings back sour memories for many Americans, who lost friends,

neighbors and family members that day.

On Harbor High athlete from the early 1930s to survive the bombing was

Billy V. Brown, one of the late Ralph Reed’s first and favorite athletes.

He was also a teammate of the rugged Bill Brown (no relation) in Tar

athletics.

It was Billy’s squadron that fired the first shots back at the enemy

aircraft.

Billy not only survived subsequent battles in the South Pacific but

out of WWII and the Korean War, survived seven airplane missions.

He almost failed to survive one airplane episode after falling through

the bombshaft on one early takeoff down the runway. After intense medical

attention, he spent more than four months recovering in a naval hospital.

He was saluted numerous times over the years and was buried with

honors in Kentucky about eight years ago. The Navy sent a group of

Sailors to pay due respects with a rifle salute.

At one point in 1989, Billy explained what had happened to him in high

school. He had “gotten a girl in trouble” and Reed reportedly offered to

loan the lad a big sum of money to help him out of the sad difficulty.

Billy, however, could not accept the money from Reed and chose to

enter the Navy and earn the funds to lift himself out of trouble.

He said he drew one amusement out of his choice since he claimed the

vice principal, the late Everett Rea, embarrassed him relative to joining

the Navy. After looking back and reviewing his financial recovery and

military awards years later, he felt he had the “last laugh.”

And there’s also the Class of ’45 from Newport, which recalls numerous

mates heading off to World War II before their graduation. Two were

All-CIF, second team tackle Dick Freeman and blocking back Joe Muniz,

brother to the ’42 All-CIF, second team tackle Manuel Muniz, who was

later wounded on Okinawa as an infantryman.

It is fair to say that the ’44 team never got around to completing all

their prep days, school tales and good humor due to the war.

Some felt they never caught up and could make room for an extra

reunion past the 50th.

Jim Douglass, the ’45 class president and a firm tackle on the ’44

grid team, indicates that interest has been growing for a 55-year reunion

for a choice time in 2000.

This class also includes the All-CIF basketball player Bud Attridge,

‘44 football tackle Bill Talstra, who lives in New Zealand, gridder

Mervin Greiwe, versatile athlete Glynn Boies, gridder Horace Silva, Santa

Ana College star quarterback Donnie Miller and former gridder Rod

MacMillian, who also served on the Newport school board for many years

and worked for years as the sports director at the Harbor Area Boys Club

in Costa Mesa.

Interested parties are welcome to phone Douglas in San Clemente at

(949) 240-0372.

Interesting to note that after Freeman had departed for the Navy in

1944 in San Diego, Navy Coach “Ripper” Miller was hopeful of seeking him

out to help battle the tough cadets from West Point, which featured

halfback Glenn Davis and fullback Felix Blanchard.

However, the time was way off the mark, since Freeman has entered the

naval hospital and as not recovering rapidly.

Many Orange County coaches and players of the day in ’44 thought

Freeman was one of the finest tackles in the CIF.

One of the big amusements from 1944 was when Harbor High played Laguna

Beach. At some point, Muniz was calling the plays, but he felt things

were not flowing smoothly with the sidelines coaching.

He eventually called time out and wen to the sidelines to ask the late

coach Les Miller, “What is going wrong?” There was not a satisfactory

response until years later.

The Tars were ahead, 12-0, and could have scored much higher. However,

Miller was compelled to keep it down since Laguna said it would not play

Newport again if it repeated the ’42 champ team performance, which left

Laguna hanging, 50-0. Miller explained it to Muniz years later.