{"id":1312086,"date":"2019-07-03T22:28:00","date_gmt":"2019-07-04T04:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/born-on-the-4th-of-july-glenwood-springs-wwii-vet-recounts-his-calling\/"},"modified":"2019-07-05T07:51:02","modified_gmt":"2019-07-05T13:51:02","slug":"born-on-the-4th-of-july-glenwood-springs-wwii-vet-recounts-his-calling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/local-news\/born-on-the-4th-of-july-glenwood-springs-wwii-vet-recounts-his-calling\/","title":{"rendered":"Born on the 4th of July, Glenwood Springs WWII vet recounts his calling"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
Ernie Reynolds relaxes on the back deck of his south Glenwood house on Wednesday afternoon, the day before his 4th of July birthday on which he turns 90.<\/strong>
Chelsea Self \/ Post Independent<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Wanting a change of scenery after growing up \u201cdirt poor\u201d in the Los Angeles area in the early 1930s, that day that forever lives in infamy gave Ernie Reynolds \u2014 who turns 90 years old on the 4th of July \u2014 the chance to change his fortunes.<\/p>\n

Playing in a baseball game with local ironworkers on Dec. 7, 1941 just outside of Los Angeles, Reynolds vividly remembers a radio announcement blaring over the loudspeaker at the field announcing that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s when I felt a change within me; it gave me purpose,\u201d Reynolds said from his regular spot at the Glenwood Canyon Brew Pub in downtown Glenwood Springs two days before his milestone birthday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to do something with my life, and I wanted to get away from home,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s how I first got the inkling to join up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Four years later, in 1945, just 16 years old at the time, Reynolds \u2014 raised by his grandmother \u2014 tried to enlist in the Marine Corps twice, but was turned away twice for being \u201ctoo skinny\u201d before the recruiting officer accepted his papers, which his grandmother signed off on.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe knew I needed to get out of there and do something different,\u201d Reynolds said. \u201cI didn\u2019t really know what I was getting into; nobody did at that time. Everyone was just so gung-ho to join up and be part of the war.\u201d<\/p>\n

Being part of the war led Reynolds to the 1st Ranger Division within the Marine Corps, which departed Camp Pendleton in San Diego via troop transport trains, winding its way up the West Coast to Bremerton, Washington and the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. That\u2019s where the California boy and the rest of his Marines in the 1st Ranger Division loaded up on ship to head to Naha Harbor, Okinawa.<\/p>\n

That trip north, as well as the trip across the Pacific Ocean to Okinawa on the General A.E. Anderson \u2014 an AP-111 troop transport \u2014 was an eye-opening experience for the then 16-year-old.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d never seen snow before, so when we went north I saw snow for the first time and was just amazed,\u201d Reynolds said. \u201cThen, when we came around the Philippines, I\u2019d never seen the jungle before like that, so it was all pretty eye-opening.\u201d<\/p>\n

During that trip to Okinawa, Reynolds wasn\u2019t quite sure of what lay ahead. All he knew at the time was that he was finally part of something and was making something of himself in the Marine Corps.<\/p>\n

Once in Okinawa, he was in an occupied territory near the end of World War II, but the California native was fortunate enough to not have seen fighting on the island. Just a few weeks after landing on the island, the Japanese surrendered, ending the Pacific Theater fighting, allowing Reynolds to eventually return home.<\/p>\n

Reynolds got out of the Marine Corps after three years to return home to be with his ailing grandmother, who passed away a few months after his return.<\/p>\n

Following the loss of his grandmother, Reynolds didn\u2019t have much of a plan for his future. The development of friendships helped Reynolds get on a career path, though. He landed on his feet in engineering, working with Aerojet General in Rancho Cordova, California, working as a general laborer on the manufacturing floor.<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess I impressed my bosses, because I kept on moving up,\u201d Reynolds said. \u201cI really got into it; I was smart and learned a lot and just kind of kept moving up. I always had a good job, even if I wasn\u2019t really an engineer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Through Aerojet General, and later with the Ogden Corporation, Reynolds was able to travel the country and the world for work with the company, eventually leading him from Vandenberg Air Force Base in Lompoc, California, to Colorado.<\/p>\n

In that time, the soon-to-be 90-year-old met a lot of people, developed a number of relationships, and had two daughters, Sydney and Shelley.<\/p>\n

Closing in on his own milestone birthday doesn\u2019t mean much to Reynolds, who views it as just another 4th of July, despite the special number he\u2019s about to hit.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t mean that much to me, honestly,\u201d Reynolds said. \u201cI\u2019m looking forward to seeing my daughters and grandchildren, and I\u2019m excited to just have a small family celebration. Having a birthday on the 4th of July has never been special to me, even when I was in the military.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked what the key to reaching the age of 90 is, the humble Reynolds chuckled, adding, \u201cit\u2019s important to keep good people around you. That\u2019s been a key for me; I\u2019ve met many people and developed some great relationships, and that keeps me going. Oh, and make sure you take care of your health. That\u2019s the most important.\u201d<\/p>\n

jcarney@postindependent.com<\/a><\/p>\n

via:: Post Independent<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ernie Reynolds relaxes on the back deck of his south Glenwood house on Wednesday afternoon, the day before his 4th of July birthday on which he turns 90.Chelsea Self \/ Post Independent Wanting a change of scenery after growing up \u201cdirt poor\u201d in the Los Angeles area in the early 1930s, that day that forever […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[160],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1312086","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-20 01:50:21","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSKE Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1312086","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1312086"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1312086\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1312113,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1312086\/revisions\/1312113"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1312086"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1312086"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1312086"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}