Nov. 4, 2009

The public is invited to attend a World War II living history symposium sponsored by the Fort Ord Alumni Association (FOAA) and California State University, Monterey Bay on Nov. 7.

The symposium will start at 2 p.m. in the university's Alumni and Visitors Center, located on the corner of Gen. Jim Moore Boulevard and Inter-Garrison Road. Admission is free; donations will be accepted for FOAA's scholarship fund.

Among the speakers are:

• Jerome Morse of Pacific Grove, a member of the 82nd Airborne Division who parachuted into Holland on D-Day

• Hal Martin of Carmel, a Navy torpedo mate on Destroyer 509

• Frank Inami of Livermore, who was pulled from UC-Berkeley School of Engineering to be interned in Arkansas, sent to Illinois to complete his degree, but rejected by all branches of the military

• Bob Boddiker and Blair Hyde, both of Carmel, Marines who saw action throughout the Pacific theater

• Ross Smith of Pacific Grove, who worked as a civilian at Fort Ord, then joined the Air Corps' 90th Bomber group. He talked with islanders who recounted seeing Amelia Earhart before the war.

Driving directions and a map of campus are available at csumb.edu/map. More information is available by calling 582-4723.