Beaufort’s Ruben Cedeno, 78, was drafted into the United States Marine Corps in New York in 1965. After Boot Camp at Parris Island, he trained at Camp Lejeune as a machine gunner. His first assignment was to Guantanamo Bay, where he manned his machine gun in a bunker on the border. He then was sent to Okinawa in preparation for duty in Vietnam, arriving in Da Nang in 1966. During his tour he was frequently in intense combat, suffered wounds four times, earned the Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, four Purple Hearts and was finally medevacked to the hospital ship USNS REPOSE before being sent to Naval Hospital Yokosuka and then to a hospital on Long Island, N.Y. After recovery he was assigned to security duty at the Naval War College in Newport, R.I. Back to Okinawa, he spent a year training others in jungle warfare before returning to Camp Lejeune. His next assignment was at Parris Island, becoming a Drill Instructor for two years. He returned to Camp Lejeune and was retired in 1986 as a Master Sergeant with 21 years of service. In 1991 he was reactivated to instruct at Camp Lejeune during Operations Desert Shield/Storm. He is a member of AMVETS and VFW.
Compiled by John Chubb, American Legion Post 207. For Veteran Of The Week nominations, contact jechubb1@gmail.com.
