Ruben Morales Honored with Banner Installation

On July 29, on the corner of La Cadena and Valley Boulevard, Ruben Morales was honored for his service in the Navy with a personal banner installation ceremony. Morales served in the Navy for four and a half years, in that time serving as a medic and operating technician in the Vietnam War. Although, he was born in Detroit, he moved to Colton when he was five years old after his father passed away. “I’m a coltonite,” Morales shared after boasting his thirty-four years of residence. Being drafted was not necessarily something Ruben wanted. “I was trying to avoid it,” Ruben said while laughing. “Overall, the Navy was good to me, except the tour in Vietnam,” he said, “It was a traumatic experience.” Ruben had aspirations of being a physician, but after the war those plans changed. Post his experience in Vietnam he mentioned, “my hands shook for about a year.” He explained that his experience in the Navy had its advantages and disadvantages. Now Ruben owns his own business with his son Ruben Morales II, Ruben’s Exterminating Co. on Ohio Avenue in Colton. “The war made me mature as a man,” Ruben expressed. His life now revolves around his kids, his grandchildren and his religion. “I’m a family man, now.”