COLTON>> On June 7, 2017, a military banner was raised in honor of Arthur Ponce Sr. He served in two branches of the military serving in both the Army for a brief period before being transferred into the Air Force serving on a base located in Oxnard, California. It was during this time in the Air Force that Arthur Ponce Sr. spent the majority of his four years serving his country.
Arthur Ponce served in the Air Force for four years from 1964 to 1968. During the four years Ponce reached the rank of Sergeant and worked in an administrative position that dealt with handling the scheduling and other arrangements of the different locations that soldiers would be transferred to as well as other scheduling responsibilities.
After ending his service in the Airforce, Ponce began working for the U.S. Post Office as a mail carrier and worked there two months short of 39 years before he passed away prior to reaching his retirement.
Angeline Ponce, Arthur Ponce’s wife, when asked about her husband’s service, said that “he liked everything about it. He never complained.”
She also added that his two nephews followed in the footsteps of their uncle Arthur and served in the Air Force, with one of his nephews also going on to work for the U.S. Post office as well.
Jokingly, she also added that Arthur was very committed to work for the government for forty-two years, due to his dedication by working for two different government jobs.
Arthur Ponce passed away on July 26, 2007 of a heart attack.
Ponce Sr. lived his life after the military as straightforward just as anyone could, he worked all his life doing something he enjoyed, coached little league baseball; he would watch sports on television and actually enjoyed all sports such as football, baseball, soccer, basketball, and track and field. Ponce Sr. was also an avid viewer of the Olympic Games.
All combined with the honor of serving one’s country and with great enjoyment and pride, Arthur Ponce Sr. served his country and community in more ways than one.