CORRALITOS — Hal Hyde had not yet reached his 20s when he left UC Berkeley and enlisted with the Army Enlisted Reserve Corps, after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.
Soon, he received a call to report for duty in the U.S. Army.
After finishing basic training, he attended Officer Candidate School in Fort Benning, Ga., and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant of Infantry.
“I had a bunch of 19-year-olds I was responsible for,” he said.
As the Battle of the Bulge raged, Hyde’s division was sent to France under General Patton to fight against the Siegfried Line. He participated in campaigns crossing the Rhine and Danube Rivers, helped liberate two Nazi death camps and recover Nazi loot hidden in mines.
Now 95, Hyde was honored Nov. 8 during a pinning ceremony at his Corralitos home. He is currently under hospice care.
The pre-Veterans Day ceremony was organized by We Honor Veterans, a program of Hospice of Santa Cruz County.
The pinning ceremonies are a way to honor veterans, and to bring closure to an important chapter in their lives.
“It’s making sure that, at this special time in a vet’s journey, that we reflect on their service to the country,” said Hospice Director of Marketing Kathleen Malone.
Hospice medical social worker Katherine Sloan gave Hyde the pin, in addition to a U.S.A.-themed quilt made by the Pajaro Valley Quilt Association.
“We hope that every time you see that pin you remember our gratitude,” she said.
In an earlier interview, Hyde described being embroiled in battle.
“I learned firsthand the heavy responsibility of leading young Americans in combat and where night and day, terror and boredom mix, where ordinary people do extraordinary things,” he said.
He later served in the Philippines, and also worked with then-Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird on a study of U.S. forces that was later used during the Gulf War. He described that as one of his favorite times during his long career in the service.
“Everything seemed like an exciting time,” he said. “Every day there was generally different.”
Hyde was awarded the Combat Infantry Badge and the Bronze Star Medal.
He returned to California after finishing active duty as a Captain in 1947.
Hyde returned to the Watsonville area and continued to serve in the U.S. Army Reserve for many years, commanding a unit at East Garrison, Fort Ord.
He was promoted to Colonel and later served in a planning role at the Pentagon, Washington D.C. He was promoted to Brigadier General in 1968, making him the ranking retired military officer in Santa Cruz County. He retired in 1983.
Hyde re-enrolled in UC Berkeley, and went on to earn his Masters of Business Administration from Harvard University.
He served on Cabrillo College’ first board after the college was established in the late 1950s. He later served as the first vice-chancellor at UC Santa Cruz in the 1960s. He also worked for Ford’s Department Store in Watsonville.
Hyde’s parents were from pioneer Watsonville families. His grandfather Henry Alton Hyde owned H.A. Hyde Nursery, which sold fruit trees, plants and flowers. His grandfather also served on the Watsonville School Board for 27 years. It was from this man that H.A. Hyde Elementary School got its name.
Hyde’s father drove an ambulance in France served during WWI, and finished his tour of duty in 1918.
Hyde lives in Corralitos with his wife Dorothy. He described Watsonville as “a town I love.”
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Hospice of Santa Cruz County contributed to this story.
