Ruben S. Moreno

Ruben was born at Marinette Ranch (now Youngtown) Arizona on April 28, 1933. His father, born in California, was an irrigation foreman there and later at Goodyear Farms where the family lived in the agricultural camps. He has many fond memories of life there where camaraderie was widespread and he came to treasure his Mexican heritage.

 Ruben spent his school years in Arizona, joined the Army at 17 and was sent to Korea in 1951. He was assigned to the First Cavalry Division as an infantryman at age 18. He fought in Korea near the 38th Parallel and while there sustained a gunshot wound in action for which he was awarded a purple heart. Afterward he spent a year in Japan training and was later assigned to a special detail at Camp Desert Rock in Nevada to participate in training exercises and the viewing of atomic bomb testing.

After being discharged from the military in 1953 he worked for the Navy at Litchfield Naval Air Facility and then at Luke Air Force Base. He was subsequently hired by the Defense Contracts Administration of the Federal Government as a Quality Assurance Representative and joined the Air National Guard during those years. He spent his spare time for the next 10 years officiating basketball and baseball games and had a lifelong interest, in professional sports which he shared with his brother Jess.

It was in 1972 that Ruben transferred from Arizona to San Diego where he worked in quality assurance for the federal government on the Atlas/Centaur and Cruise Missile Systems at General Dynamics.

Ruben retired at age 55 in 1988 and spent the next years celebrating and loving life! Beginning in 2001, he traveled to many destinations including Spain, Italy, Mexico, Canada and of special interest to him was his voyage through the Panama Canal in 2012. In 2018 he was awarded a trip to Washington DC as a participant of Honor Flight,San Diego, which included visits to all the prominent military memorials there.

Ruben is very grateful for his experience in the military and the defense industry. He is 88 years of age as his plaque is installed on Mt. Soledad Veteran’s Memorial Wall.