Las Vegas Sun

November 16, 2009

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A MOMENT CAPTURED

Monday, Oct. 9, 2006 | 7:29 a.m.

As told to Steve Marcus, Las Vegas Sun

"My name is Ralph Willits, ex-Navy," the 84-year-old says from the Nevada State Veterans Home in Boulder City. "Forty years, seven months and 16 days in the Navy. Was on a small carrier in the South Pacific area. Our ship, oddly enough, was in every single battle that was out of the Pacific, but we never saw a Japanese airplane. We would take replacement planes out to the big carriers and then turn around and run like the devil. That's about it.

"I'd like to stay as healthy as I am now, for a little while. And I'd like to see an awful lot of changes - one would be that there'd be peace somewhere so that my son and my granddaughter could grow up and have a peaceful existence instead of looking forward to sending people off to fight somewhere else.

"I've done a lot of things and seen a lot of places, but I kind of like to sit down and rest once in a while."

MARCUS@LASVEGASSUN.COM

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