Turlock salutes WWII veteran, hospice volunteer

Only days after turning 18 in 1944, Tom Hillsamer graduated high school and signed on with the U.S. Navy, just before the D-Day invasion launched in Normandy, France.

For the next two years, he served in the armed guard of the Albert P. Ryder liberty ship, working the 3-inch, 50-caliber gun while the repurposed freighter delivered supplies to Allied troops in Europe, South America and north Africa.

He saw the world on that ship. “World War II changed a lot of people’s lives,” he mused Monday, as he waited for a ceremony to start honoring his service.

The young serviceman saw the Rock of Gibraltar, climbed a pyramid in Egypt, trekked to the Christ statue above Rio de Janeiro and hitchhiked from Antwerp, Belgium, to Paris for the first Bastille Day after liberation, standing in awe of a war-closed Eiffel Tower.

“There was a lot of celebrations, in many ways,” Hillsamer recalled with a knowing nod Monday, just before taking his place at the front of the room to wave off accolades, speaking of war and sacrifice as a part of a life richly lived.

Hillsamer left the Navy as the war wound down in 1946 – “It was over so quick,” he said Monday. He headed home after word came his father, a World War I Army veteran, had been gravely injured while working as a civilian contractor on salvaging the USS Oklahoma from the depths of Pearl Harbor.

His father survived, and over the rest of Hillsamer’s long life he fulfilled his dream of working in electronics, served as a postmaster of Port Ritchey in Florida, and raised five children, family members said. His wife died in 1977 while the couple lived in Oregon, and shortly thereafter he began volunteering with a hospice.

He dedicated his time to help the sick and the dying for over a decade in Oregon, and after moving to Turlock in 2008 volunteered for seven years here, said Pam Parker with CovenantCare Hospice.

“He’s quite a man, a very giving, giving person,” she said. The organization launched its Turlock We Honor Veterans program with its recognition of Hillsamer.

At 90, Hillsamer is a hospice patient himself, glad for the many services it provides, he told the room. “I didn’t realize how much hospice does for people in their final stages until I got into hospice,” he said, adding, “I’m thankful I lived this long.”

The ceremony was held at Turlock Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. Kids, grandkids and great-grandchildren came to watch him accept salutes from the Disabled American Veterans, American Legion, the Turlock City Council and CovenantCare Hospice.

“With this pin, a grateful nation thanks you for all your service,” said Carlos Montanez, standing in Navy dress whites. Montanez leads the Turlock High Navy Junior ROTC program.

Service is a way of life for many vets, DAV commander Andrew Mojarras said after the ceremony. “You join and it becomes a part of you. You have to have a purpose in life,” he said.

“All of these vets have their stories,” Mojarras said. Before drones and laser-guided missiles, war was far more personal, he said: “Now we have a lot of jets bombing things. They had hand-to-hand combat.”

“Absolutely humbling,” was how Turlock Mayor Gary Soiseth described being in a room full of veterans. Soiseth traveled to Afghanistan as a farming adviser but was not a part of the military.

This story was originally published August 9, 2016 at 2:27 PM with the headline "Turlock salutes WWII veteran, hospice volunteer."