NAPERVILLE, Ill. (NewsNation) — This Veterans Day, NewsNation went to Rosie’s Home Cookin’ to speak with our nation’s heroes.
The restaurant, named after Rosie the Riveter, a symbol of strength and grit during World War II, is a veteran-owned and operated diner in Naperville, Illinois.
On Friday, the aroma of breakfast blended with the tales of war veterans, including retired Navy Petty Officer Lou Kueltzo.
Kueltzo, who served in the Korean War, said learning that the U.S. was at war at a young age inspired him to enlist.
“It was December 7, Sunday, 1941, and we were at my grandma’s house for Sunday dinner and all of a sudden, the radio announcer came on and said, “We’re at war,'” he recalled. “At 7 years old, I couldn’t comprehend what it meant, but my dad told my mom to pack up the boys. We have to go home. We’re going to war.”
He said that moment started and impacted military life when he saw so many young people at that time going off to war.
“That inspired me for the rest of my life that I have to do something for my country. When I turned 17 after graduating high school, I went into the service right away and I reported aboard ship. It was about six months later I was aboard the United States Navy destroyer Hazelwood and on my way to Korea,” he said.
Kueltzo said he never expected the U.S. would still be at war 10 years after it was first declared, and he’d have the experience to fight for our country in that war.
