Members of the Roseville Elks Lodge hold a banner in front of the newly completed Veterans Memorial Wall located in the outdoor courtyard of the Veterans Community Center in Citrus Heights. Photo courtesy of the Citrus Heights Veterans Community Center

CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA (MPG) - Longtime Citrus Heights resident Emil Giusti, a 100-year-old U.S. Army veteran of the World War II Pacific campaign, returned last week to the former Sylvan School, which is now the Veterans Community Center at 6921 Sylvan Road where he first attended elementary school classes more than 80 years ago.

“Hasn’t changed much,” he said with a wry smile.

Sylvan School, originally built in 1862, was one of first rural grammar schools in Sacramento County.

Veterans Community Center president Michelle Grant proudly welcomed Emil and his family who were the special honored guests at a BBQ lunch in his honor which commemorated the observance of his recent 100th birthday on Saturday, Sept. 12. Photo by Thomas J. Sullivan

When the community finally deemed the building too small to continue functioning as a grammar school in 1927, the building was taken over by the Citrus Heights Community Club which moved it to its current location on land donated by Adolf Van Maren.

In 2013, the property was purchased by Jim Rounsavell, who opened the old schoolhouse as a veteran’s center.

Today, the historic Sylvan School is the home of the Veterans Golf Park for Disabled Vets is best known as the Citrus Heights Veterans Community Center.

Veterans Community Center president Michelle Grant proudly welcomed Emil and his family as the special honored guests at a BBQ lunch in his honor which commemorated the observance of his recent 100th birthday on Saturday, Sept. 12.

Giusti served with the U.S. 37th “Buckeye” Infantry Division, in Company C of the 145th Infantry Regiment during the liberation of the Philippines and the Battle of Manila in February 1945.

Giusti also earned the Combat Infantryman’s Badge (CIB), Giusti received the Philippine Liberation Ribbon with a Bronze Star, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal and the Philippine Independence Ribbon.

Family members placed Giusti’s recently received medals and a military service shadowbox of past honors on a front display table. Photo by Thomas J. Sullivan

A discrepancy in wartime service record was recently corrected by the U.S. Army which officially awarded to him the Purple Heart Medal for wounds in action and the Bronze Star for valor. Family members placed Giusti’s recently received medals and a military service shadowbox of past honors on a front display table.

Emil was a member of 4H, Future Farmers of America (FFA) and ran cross-country on the San Juan High school track team. He was just beginning his senior year at San Juan High School in the fall of 1944 during World War II when he was called up by the local Draft Board at age 18 to start Army basic training.

The youthful recruit was soon headed off to the U.S. Army's 88th Infantry Training Battalion at Camp Roberts in central California. Following the war, Emil returned to graduate from San Juan High School in 1945.

The three Giusti brothers, Mario, Emil and Joseph are inscribed on a commemorative plaque in a World War II remembrance garden in Rusch Community Park in Citrus Heights for their wartime service. The stone monument with a bronze plaque honors 272 Citrus Heights residents who served in or died during World War II.

Several other well-known Citrus Heights families are represented on the plaque, with four members of the Van Maren family appearing on the list, as well as Theodore C. Mitchell, after whom the 260-home Mitchell Village development is named after.

Citrus Heights residents can now purchase a memorial plaque with the names of their loved ones who served in the military and who have since passed to be honored on the new Veterans Memorial Wall located in the outdoor courtyard of the Veterans Community Center. Photo by Thomas J. Sullivan

Giusti shared several anecdotes about his family’s history in the once rural community of Sylvan and welcomed the opportunity to meet his fellow veterans at the center and learn about upcoming social programs which are offered by the center.

Giusti was also honored by the non-profit community center with the first plaque on the new Veterans Memorial Wall, a four-foot-high retaining wall located in the outdoor courtyard of the center where many events including the annual Veteran’s Day Concert are held every year.

“The project would not be possible but for the generosity of the Elks Lodge of Roseville who has donated time and materials to the project at no cost to the center,” Grant said.

Local Citrus Heights residents can purchase either a 4-inch by 8-inch, or an 8-inch by 8-inch memorial plaque with the names of their loved ones who served in the military and who have since passed, she said.

Each individual plaque with a round seal representing the branch of military service displays the person’s name, service rank and branch of service.

Inside the center, organizers already had established an “honor wall” which features the framed portraits of veterans of all branches of the service who have been part of the center through the years and who have since passed on.

Grant said the new outdoor retaining wall serves as a permanent extension of that honor wall inside the center and will be a place to “honor and remember” those who have come before.

“We’re looking ahead to our annual free Veteran’s Day Concert on Wednesday, Nov. 11 from noon to 1 pm and we invite the public to attend,” she said. Patriotic music will be provided by the Ben Ali Shrine Band. A formal flag retirement ceremony will follow at 1 pm. Free parking and concessions will be available.

The Veterans Community Center at 6921 Sylvan Road is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. A calendar of monthly events can be found on the center’s website at: https://www.veteranscommunitycenterch.com/.