Flag Day, marked each year on June 14, is a moment to honor the service and sacrifice of those who have served in the U.S. military. In Long Beach, that recognition extends to veterans whose dedication continues to shape and strengthen the community.
Gus Orozco
Gus Orozco was born in Jalisco, Mexico, and raised in Long Beach. He joined the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps at Wilson High School and enlisted in the Army in 2005. Orozco served with the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment in Germany and earned a Combat Action Badge during deployment to Iraq. He joined the Army Reserve in 2010 and became a drill sergeant. Orozco received a bachelor’s degree from Cal State Long Beach, was commissioned as a lieutenant in 2023, and now serves as company commander in Riverside. He lives in North Long Beach with his wife.
Samuel Yudin
Samuel Yudin, a Long Beach resident, is a command sergeant major in the California Army National Guard and the senior enlisted member of the 224th Sustainment Brigade. He has served 26 years in the Army, most recently as the mission coordinator for the U.S. Army Europe Federated Intelligence Program. Outside the military, Yudin is a senior manager at Boeing in El Segundo. He graduated from the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy and holds degrees from Humboldt State University and the University of Texas at El Paso. Yudin is active in veterans organizations and community service.
James Dohn
Dr. James Dohn is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and chiropractor who has lived in Long Beach for more than 40 years. He served two tours in Vietnam as an aviation ordnance technician. Since the 1980s, he has operated a chiropractic practice in Long Beach. He has contributed to community service through organizations such as the Optimist Club and Long Beach Organic. He has mentored youth, led Alcoholics Anonymous meetings for inmates at Terminal Island, and taught yoga to residents.
Patrick C. O’Rourke
Dr. Patrick C. O’Rourke is a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel who served 22 years in infantry and Special Forces units. He trained as a China foreign area officer and helped establish the FAO training program in Beijing. On Sept. 11, 2001, he served at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center, helping develop seven new languages for the global war on terror. O’Rourke later commanded ROTC programs at USC, Cal State Long Beach and Cal State Dominguez Hills. He earned a doctorate in educational leadership and has led the Language Training Center grant since 2011.
Joseph Daniel Davis
Joseph Daniel Davis is a Navy veteran who was homeported in Long Beach from 1963 to 1967. He served as a gun mate seaman aboard the USS Valley Forge, a helicopter carrier, and the USS Bayfield, an attack transport ship. Off
the coast of Vietnam, he helped transport Marines during a rescue mission, earning a Gold Star commendation. Davis has lived in Long Beach on and off for 32 years and has lived at American Gold Star Manor since 2013.
Robert E. Villanueva
Robert E. Villanueva’s family immigrated from the Philippines to Long Beach in 1982. He attended local schools and graduated from Long Beach Polytechnic High School in 1986. Villanueva served in the U.S. Navy from 1987 to 1991, spending a year at Long Beach Naval Station and completing two Western Pacific deployments. After his service, he worked at DENSO in West Long Beach while attending Long Beach City College. His wife and children also attended local schools, and his family maintains strong ties to Long Beach and a tradition of military service dating back to World War II.