Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, May 27, 2023

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Mountain View News Saturday, May 27, 2023 


WALKING SIERRA MADRE - The Social Side

by Deanne Davis

By the time you’re picking up your paper and taking a look at what’s going on in our 
fabulous town, the annual Mt. Wilson Trail Race will be one for the history books and 
the incredibly speedy runners will be relaxing at Lucky Baldwin’s with a beer and a 
burger, or Casa del Rey with a margarita and some chips and guacamole or maybe the 
Buccaneer or RT Rogers Brewing Company. Once again, it will be a fabulous race and 
the participants will be so glad they did it.

My trusty Trail photographer, 
Leah Davis, sent me today’s picture 
of the new bridge the runners 
got to negotiate just before 
First Water. Leah said it felt 
sturdy and reliable and I’m sure 
it beat the heck out of the crumbling 
hillside it replaced. Our 
Trail volunteers under the direction 
of Bob Spears do an amazing 
job. Let me repeat that important 
part: Volunteers!

As you already know, the Mt. 
Wilson Trail Race is one of the 
oldest trail races in California. 
It takes you 8.6 miles from Kersting 
Court to Orchard Camp 
and back with an elevation gain 
of over 2160 feet on a winding 
course that is kept in optimum 
condition by the Trail volunteers. 
The original path, first used by 
the Gabrielino Indians, was dug 
out by Benjamin “Don Benito” 
Wilson in 1864 and every year 
about 300 intrepid runners do 
their best to get up there and 
back in two hours without falling 
down! 

“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We don’t pass it to our 
children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to 
do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s 
children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.” Ronald 
Reagan

“It is imperative that the sacrifices made by the fallen not fade into the ether. We believe 
that a veteran, a person – anyone – has two deaths, once when their breath leaves their 
body, and the second time is when no one remembers them or says their name. That is 
why it is so important for communities to come out and honor those who paid the ultimate 
sacrifice.”

 Rachel Charles, Acting Director of the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona

Monday is Memorial Day and I’ve got this amazing story to relate. I’ve done it before 
but it deserves repeating:

“Doris “Dorie” Miller was a black American sailor in the United States Navy. He 
manned anti-aircraft guns during the attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941, for 
which he had no training, then tended to the wounded. Miller was a crewman aboard 
the West Virginia. Waking at 6 a.m. on that fateful day, he served breakfast mess and 
was collecting laundry at 7:57 a.m. when Lt. Commander Shigeharu Murata from the 
Japanese aircraft carrier, Akagi, launched the first of nine torpedoes that hit the West 
Virginia. The “Battle Stations” alarm went off; Miller headed for his battle station, an 
anti-aircraft battery magazine amidships, only to discover that a torpedo had destroyed 
it. He then raced to ‘Times Square,’ a central spot aboard the ship, reporting himself 
available for other duty. Miller was ordered to help Lt. Frederic H. White and Ensign 
Victor Delano load the unmanned number 1 and number 2 Browning .50 caliber anti-
aircraft machine guns aft of the conning tower. Delano expected Miller to fed ammunition 
to one gun, but when his attention was diverted, he looked again and saw Miller 
firing one of the guns. White then loaded ammunition into both guns and assigned 
Miller the starboard gun. 

Meanwhile, Captain Mervyn Bennion had a gaping wound in his abdomen where he 
had been hit by shrapnel. Miller and another sailor lifted the skipper but were unable 
to remove him from the bridge so they carried him from his exposed position on the 
damaged bridge to a sheltered spot behind the conning tower. Captain Bennion refused 
to leave his post, questioned his officers about the condition of the ship and issued orders. 
Miller fired the gun until he ran out of ammunition when he was ordered by Lt. 
Claude V. Ricketts to help carry the Captain up to the navigation bridge out of the thick 
oily smoke generated by the many fires on and around the ship. Captain Bennion was 
only semi-conscious at this point and died soon afterward. Japanese aircraft eventually 
dropped two armor-piercing bombs through the deck of the battleship and launched 
five 18-inch aircraft torpedoes into her port side. When the attack finally lessened, 
Miller helped move injured sailors through oil and water to the quarterdeck, thereby 
unquestionably saving the lives of a number of people who might otherwise have been 
lost.

The ship was heavily damaged by bombs, torpedoes, and resulting explosions and fires, 
but the crew prevented her from capsizing by counter-flooding a number of compartments. 
Instead, the West Virginia sank to the harbor bottom as her surviving crew 
abandoned ship, including Miller. 

Miller was recognized by the Navy for his actions and awarded the Navy Cross. He was 
the first black American to be awarded the Navy Cross, the third highest honor awarded 
by the Navy at that time, after the Medal of Honor and the Navy Distinguished Service 
Medal. Nearly two years after Pearl Harbor he was killed in action when his ship, 
Liscome Bay, was sunk by a Japanese submarine during the Battle of Makin. On January 
19, 2020, the Navy announced that CVN-81, a Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier 
scheduled to be laid down in 2023 and launched in 2028 would be named after him.

Sierra Madre is such a special place to be on Memorial Day. John and I went so many 
years to Pioneer Cemetery, where he rests now, to participate in the Memorial Day ceremonies 
there.

“Home of the free, because of the brave.”

My book page: Amazon.com: Deanne Davis

Where you’ll find the Emma Gainsworth Kindle novelettes, 

Along with other goodies like “A Treasure Map, A Drunken Owl

And 47 Rattlers in A Bag” True Tales of Early California


SIERRA MADRE POLICE BLOTTER

WEEKLY ACTIVITY REPORT May 14 – May 20, 2023

The following represents a summary report of some of the major incidents handled by the 
Sierra Madre Police Department during this period. This list is not intended to be considered 
exclusive or all-inclusive.

Tuesday, May 16

Attempted Burglary Arrest

At approximately 5:30 pm, an officer observed a vehicle drive into the driveway of a residence 
in the 700 block of Auburn Ave, a residential burglary recently occurred in the area. The officer 
made contact with the subjects in the vehicle. Upon further investigation, the subjects 
in the vehicle were linked to an attempted residential burglary in the 600 block of Auburn 
Ave the week before. All three subjects were arrested and booked at the Pasadena City Jail for 
attempted burglary.

Friday, May 19

Traffic Accident

At approximately 2:30 pm, officers responded to the 200 block of W. Orange Grove Ave regarding 
a traffic collision. Upon arrival, officers discovered that two vehicles were involved 
in a traffic collision, and both drivers were medically treated at the scene for injuries. Both 
drivers declined to be transported to the hospital, and a report was taken.


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com